Plight of Persephone (2019)
by Agent of Teal
Summary: **REMAKE OF P.O.P***NOT CONNECTED** Things in the Underworld have been quiet since the 'Titan Incident' three months ago. In fact, nobody has seen Hades.. With their master missing and the Underworld productivity lacking Pain & Panic set out to bring him back but they will need the help of a little known goddess called Persephone. What happens when the Lord of the Dead returns? R&R
1. Something Isn’t Right Down Below

**_Plight of Persephone_**

_Ok people, you know the score, I do not own Hercules, Disney does and even though they have not issued plans for a live action redo, give it time. Everything else seems to be getting the treatment so I wouldn't be shocked if it happened. And since Disney aren't entertaining the idea of a remake, I decided I would. Don't worry, you do not need to have read any of my other stories to read this one and the original is NOT going anywhere, it stays here where it belongs.. I do own this version of Persephone and all other original characters and places that come up, permission and advice is always given to those who want to use them but do tell me if you use my characters so I may view and comment on your work.. Just like the original I will be basing this story around Greek myths and twisting them around just like Disney did, I will also be reworking some of the original plot lines.. Please review and let me know your thoughts.. Thank you for your time. Enjoy! X_

**_Chapter One: Something Isn't Right Down Below_**

_"Don't touch me! Get your slimy souls off me!" Hades splashed about in the fiery waters of the vortex as the numerous angry souls around him were making a grab for him, trying to drag him down with them.._

_"Urh! He isn't gonna be very happy when he gets out of there!" High, high above this scene Panic's long nose poked over the edge of the black stone cliff-edge and the anxious teal imp watched his lord and master wrestle against the angry souls swarming him._

_"You mean _if_ he gets outta there.." His pink partner shot back with a crafty look in his small yellow eyes and a sharp-toothed smirk twisted his features. His words made Panic give a start, a smirk of his own twisting this thin face._

_"If... If is good.." The two then turned away from Hades' yelling and chuckled as they walked away..._

* * *

It had been three months since any of the gods on the surface had heard anything from Hades and had it not been for the 'Titan incident' that was still fresh in there minds they might have cared more. At first Zeus had been furious with the Lord of the Dead for even daring to pull a stunt like that. He had originally intended some form of retribution but ever since learning about Hercules 'taking care' of his little brother and the fact that the grim god was keeping a low profile these days he decided against it. This was a decision that many of the other gods disagreed with him on, they wanted him punished, forced to fall in line with the rest of them as he certainly wouldn't be this lenient with any of them. So begrudgingly, The Lord of the Universe decreed that he would be banished from Olympus, forbidden to darken it's golden gates again. This seemed to quell their disgruntlement for the time being but it left a sour taste in Zeus' mouth. He had never forbidden a god from entering the cloudy realms before, this was the Home of the Gods, it was a god's birthright to be able to come here. He expected a fiery hissy-fit after sending the decree to Hades but the Ruler of the Underworld remained silent about it..

Perhaps Hades had finally learnt his lesson?

It was a long shot but still, the blue-flamed god had really just been crying out for attention, it must be very dull living in the Underworld. Zeus had always meant to visit but that realm was just so dark and creepy, then there was Hades who was so depressing and his hideous minions who were so stupid. He hated going down there so he always made excuses not to go. Besides nothing ever went wrong in the Underworld, Hades was a workaholic, he constantly was on the go and looking after his souls. He ran a tight ship, even when his business was low and he had time for another pointless scheme, the Underworld was in safe hands...

...Or so he thought, anyway.

* * *

"_Urgh..._" One dainty, tapered pearly-white finger dug into a small, pixie-like ear as Persephone screwed up her brow and tried to shake the soft, whispery voices from her head. The bright blonde bangs that framed her heart-shaped face flopped forward as her cherry lips that were twisted into a grimace of disgust. "Just go away... I dunno what you want from me.." She whined out in a pleading tone. In the last few months these whispery voices just randomly seemed to come and go, the voices were always so indistinct but they sounded like they wanted help. This didn't make sense to her as she was a minor goddess with no real purpose. Persephone appeared to be the only one that could hear them, her mother just waved her off when she had tried to ask her about it. The voices seemed to come straight out of the ground, they sounded so forlorn and lost, merely looking for some kind of assistance or guidance. They sounded almost like prayers and Persephone knew that prayers could only be heard by the God or Goddess they were intended for, but who would want to pray to her? She was nothing more than a simple nature goddess that had yet to escape from being under the green thumb of her mother and discover her divine purpose..

At this moment in time she had found herself a rare moment of peace in her own private grove, her personal refuge from the stifling grip of her mother. It was gloomy, dreary and dark, just the way she liked it. So gloomy in fact that no nymph or saytar dared to follow her inside as it gave off the impression of being a gateway to the Underworld. The trees were misshapen and crooked due to Persephone's love of unique and quirky designs and her dislike of the straight backed uniformed look. The misdirected branches blotted out the majority of the sun meaning it only glittered through the odd gap in her othwise covered canopy. The forestry floor of her grove was covered in plants of her own creation, their colours muted, ranging from deep blues and purples, deep burgundies and navy to light lavenders, greyish pinks, ghostly blues, whites and even blacks. The only real spots of colour were cherry reds that looked foreboding against the ashen greying of aged bark and young green foliage.

"_Hey! I_ just came to share a little gossip with my best friend, though if ya really want me to leave you could just say so, I don't come here for rudeness, get enough of that on my travels.." The familiar snippy male drawl suddenly responded to her whine as if thinking it had been directed towards them. Immediately Persephone gave a start in fright, not expecting anyone to be there then lowered the finger that had been wriggling in her ear and whipped her blonde head around to see the blue-skinned Messenger God hovering in his usual white toga with golden hat and caduceus, his winged deep blue sandals fluttering excitedly. The young goddess exhaled in relief and smiled warmly.

"_Hermes! _No...Stay." She patted a mossy covered rock nearby that she knew was comfortable and just his size. "I wasn't talking to you, I was talking to..." Persephone tailed off feeling silly and smiling nervously. "Heh, something else.."

"_Oooh! _Sounds titillating girl, you got yourself yet another suitor?" Hermes quirked his brows, a playful smirk twisting his kindly round face. There always seemed to be an endless number of men both mortal and immortal that found themselves enraptured with Persephone's beauty. Unlike Aphrodite, who's beauty was well known and she worked it hard the white-skinned beauty before him shone with a kind of innocence and she was completely unaware of just how lovely she was.

"No.. Thank figs for that." The blonde goddess chuckled lightly, her hand gently grazing her ample bosom and her faint aura glimmering a ghostly-white in the shade of her weeping willow tree, it barely visible compared to Hermes' bright neon blue glow but still there. "Could you imagine my mother's face!"

"_Oh-hoh! _I don't need to, I've seen her mad.." Hermes did a light somersault in the air before fluttering down and settling down on the rock she had offered him.

"Hmh, that's right. You tried to flirt with me too when you first met me." Persephone's teased him, fluttering her eyelashes playfully as she peered through the curtain of pinky-grey flowered willow branches.

"Hey, _hey..._ I thought you were a cute nymph, I didn't realise you just looked underage." The blue-skinned god gabbed with a sheepish grin. All gods stopped aging at certain points of their lives to fit in with what was laid out for them by the Fates. In Persephone's case: she had stopped aging in her mid teens and since her aura was still developing due to not having found her niche yet it was only understandable that he had mistakenly thought she was just another nymph he could flirt with. "Besides I don't blame Demeter for bein' protective then, you were justa kid but now your not she could back off a little." Hermes added twiddling his staff as he tried to placate her.

"I wish she would.." Persephone sighed heavily, her smile dipping as her shoulders sagged a little. "I'm never allowed to go anywhere exciting or meet anyone that she hasn't approved of first. I don't even like gong to Olympus, it's boring and overcrowded.. What kind of goddess am I?" She then propped her chin in her hand, rested her elbow on the knee of her short violet covered chiton and pouted sulkily. "At this rate I'll never find my purpose.."

"Sure you will and I bet it's gonna be something special." Hermes said encouragingly.

"Well it better not involve growing plants. My mother hates everything I come up with." Her big olive green eyes rolled expressively with disdain.

"To be fair babe, that night snare plant you came up with last time that creeps like a snake and throttles anything that crosses its path was kinda creepy." The Messenger God shuddered at the memory of the thick vine-like plant with thorns with deep green leathery leaves. "And Artemis didn't like the fact it went after her animals either."

"_Urgh.. _It was supposed to retreat from bright light, it's not my fault it was immune to _moonlight!_" Persephone huffed, folding her arms stubbornly across her chest looking put out.

"And it got you detained again. Hehe, you really know how to push the big man upstairs, I'll give you that babe." Hermes smiled sympathetically knowing how Demeter had caved to Zeus' recommendation that Persephone be detained back on Sicily after destroying her plant with his lightning, despite her mother's initial protests about it being an innocent mistake.

"When am I not?" The white-skinned goddess exhaled heavily, her arms loosening as her expression saddened. "I just don't feel like I fit in up here, every time I try to be myself I'm just told that it's wrong, that I have to be nice and just fall in line. What if I'm not the goddess they want me to be? Am I just gonna be stuck on this island forever?" Her words made Hermes flash her a sympathetic look. She had tried so hard to fit in with her mother's wishes and be a good girl and grow nice plants but he knew that the only thing 'nice' about Persephone's plants were that they were pleasing to the eye, many of them contained hidden poisons or barbs put there to catch unsuspecting victims out. Hermes had learnt that very early on in his friendship with Demeter's daughter that there was one thing that Persephone excelled at and it was hiding the truth. She, like her plants, were very different than the pretty face and sweet personality that she projected out to the rest of the world. Underneath the sweet facade was a fiery goddess who knew more than she had initially led others to believe, able to use her naive charms to convince others that this was what she was. She certainly had her mother believing that she was this sweet innocent little girl that could do no wrong.

"Nah, not forever babe, just until Zeus thinks you've learnt your lesson." He added in a chipper tone.

"Your not helping." Her ghost-like white aura brightened a little as her green eyes lanced him with a momentary dark look.

"Sorry hun, I would love to help ya out. You know I would but ya gotta figure this one out on your own." Hermes added in a soft voice before smiling. "But like I always say; What's life without a little risk? Carpe diem: As the cats over in Rome put it.."

"What are you babbling about now?" Persephone gave him a bemused look, not understanding his point.

"Seize the day babe." The tiny blue god said plainly as his winged sandals fluttered making him float upwards from the rock he had been perched on in her private grove. "If you want to go see the world then go see it, you don't have any responsibilities holding you back.. Well, not any pressing ones anyway."

"Nice idea Hermes but even if Zeus doesn't notice that I broke his curfew my mom sure will." Persephone raised her brows in some jest at the idea, she couldn't just get up and leave. Could she? The seed of doubt had firmly been planted now. It had never occurred to her to just get up and go before. After all, there were no physical barriers to actually stop her from going, her mother trusted her to stay here and so far she had not done anything to suggest she wasn't trustworthy.

"Hey, rules were made to be broken, that's all I'm saying. If you don't break the rules a few times how can you ever say you've lived?" The Messenger God replied lazily wondering why the idea of just getting up and going had never come to her before. She was a full-inchor goddess and she was an adult, she could go where she wanted whether Demeter liked it or not.

"I'll think about it." Persephone said in the tone of voice hinting that she was unsure if it was a good idea but not ruling it out completely.

"Ok then but remember, your purpose isn't gonna just come to you, you have to find it." Hermes replied looking away with a sly smirk knowing this would get to her. It worked too as the white skinned goddess frowned.

"Hmh, I thought you came to share some gossip not guide me through my sorry excuse of an existence?" Persephone quipped raising one neat light brown brow and immediately Hermes chuckled warmly.

"Well, if that's how you describe it babe, I kinda wanna do both." This made the permanently sixteen year old goddess lean over and punch his arm with a playful pout making the blue god wince in pain. "Ok, ok.. I'll ease up on the guidance, just take it easy. I'm sensitive y'know."

"Aww, poor baby.." Persephone teased flashing Hermes a wide smirk that almost reminded Hermes of Hades himself. "Should I do it again and see if you still have feeling in it.." She pretended to make another attempt and he darted back.

"No. Heh, you have a mean streak, y'know that?"

"So you like to tell me." She trilled brightly then straightened. "So what's the dirt?"

"Apollo has been makin' the moves on Daphne—" Hermes leaned in lowering his rose-tinted specs.

"_Again?_" Persephone blinked in disbelief knowing the little pink nymph with bright green hair was not interested in him. "Didn't you try to talk him out of it like I suggested?"

"I tried babe, you know what he's like." The little blue Messenger God replied in a despairing drawl. "Remember how long it took you to get rid of him when he was sniffing around you?"

"_Don't_ remind me." Persephone grumbled with a shudder of revulsion, remembering a few years back when the buff purpled tanned god had been flirting with her at one of her mother's Cerealia Celebrations. She could still smell the reek of whatever over-perfumed aftershave he had been wearing and feel his warm breath on the back of her neck. He used his smoothest lines and had her pinned, caught like a rabbit in headlights and panicking in fear. Thankfully Ares had come to her rescue and liberated her before the over-zealous God of the Sun could attempt to stick his tongue down her throat. That had not stopped him from perusing her, claiming their meeting was destiny. He had sent her flowers and sonnets, wrote her songs, tried to woo her with pretty words but this only irritated her more. He had tried too hard to impress her and this only made her want him less, considering he governed the one thing she hated most in the world that was saying something. In the end she was forced to threaten him with her mother if he didn't back off. Amazingly, this worked. Her mother was one of the sweetest goddesses in the cosmos but when she was mad the seasons suffered for it and for this reason nobody wanted to be on her bad side, nobody wanted to theirworshipers to starve.

"Sorry Seph, well anyway, Daphne transformed herself into a laurel tree _again_." The tiny blue god rolled his dark eyes from behind his specs. "Only _this_ time she beseeched your mother to keep her that way." Hermes continued and this made Persephone's green eyes widen.

"And of course my mom agreed, she'd do anything to help a nature spirit." The white-skinned goddess responded feeling a pang of pity for the forest nymph, it seemed that she too had had to seek her mother's assistance in ditching the creep. It was so unfair how nymphs and minor goddesses like her were always paying the price for lusty gods and their massive egos. Shaking her head roughly she then looked curiously to Hermes, her mind thinking about the disembodied whispers that had been bugging her for a number of weeks.

"Hey Hermes, how do you know when your getting a prayer?" Persephone's question was so out of the blue that the tiny blue god was actually speechless for a moment as his brain processed the question.

"Oh. _Wow. _Wasn't expecting that one." Hermes swiftly pulled himself together and threw her a suspicious look. "Wait. Why are you asking?"

"Just curious." She blinked her pretty green eyes flashing him her most innocent look and girliest smile.

"Well, prayers are kinda like whispers in your head, can be a little hard to hear them at first. Mine kinda faded in and out until I learnt the control, now I can filter out the spam." He suddenly broke off as if hearing an unseen voice then smirked widely. "Heh, speakin' of which, the big man upstairs is callin'. I gotta go. Your lucky you don't have to worry about being summoned or getting prayers just yet. Don't think too hard on it babe, just enjoy your freedom while you have it. Ciao Seph." He added cheerfully before shooting off in a neon blur out of the canopy of her private grove. A few small twigs and leaves fell to the ground after his departure but the young goddess barely noticed as she sighed heavily.

"Yeh. Lucky me.." She exhaled heavily looking glumly at the mossy grove ground.

* * *

_...Down in the Underworld..._

Things were quiet in the big basement. Far too quiet in fact. For the last three months the two imps under the employ of the Lord of the Dead had been waiting for their ruler to re-emerge and force them back to work. Unfortunately for them he had not shown up yet and as a result, things were slacking, tasks were not being done, the paperwork was mounting up and the two minions had no idea what they were supposed to be doing without their Lord and Master to guide them.

"I'm _bored..._" Panic whinged from his laid down position on the map of Greece. He had been lying there staring at the stalagmite ceiling for almost the entire day waiting for Hades to show up and punish them for their insolence and failing to assist in helping him out of the Vortex of Phlegethon.

"Me too.." Pain chipped in looking somewhat frustrated from his slouched position on Hades' stone throne. Ordinarily he would never have the gumption to sit here but after weeks of not seeing the Lord of the Dead he figured that he could push his luck in the hopes that this was what _finally_ drew Hades out of hiding. The blue flamed god had absolutely forbidden them from sitting on his throne and he would never stand for this if he was around. "How long does it take to get out of the Phlegethon anyway? I thought he woulda come back by now."

"Who knows." Panic responded with a small thoughtful frown as his large round eyes narrowed. "We tried poking a stick down there but we couldn't find him."

"Hey, you remember what happened with Morpheus when he was under his own blanket and nobody could sleep?" Pain suddenly was hit with a thought that made him get up on his knees and peer over at his non-identical twin brother across the room. Panic merely turned his head listlessly around to look at his chubby pink skinned brother, not even bothering to sit up.

"Yeh, we had all those roosters in our search for Electron, I remember. What about it?" He asked with some curiosity, not understanding why it was being brought up now.

"You don't think that's what happened to Hades, do you?" Pain asked looking worried and this immediately made Panic sit up looking bemused and sceptical.

"Pain, Hades is not asleep under a blanket needing to be woken by Electrion." He drawled in a tone of jest but the pink imp shook his head making his mop of dark pink hair shake wildly.

"No, no.. Hades said that a god could succumb to the powers of his own domain and—"

"-It was almost impossible to revive them after that." Panic finished his sentence, his bug eyes widening in slight fear at the very thought. "Holy Nyx, I think your right." He immediately hopped off the table and began frantically pacing back and forth. "That would explain his long absence and why we haven't heard from him." He then stopped with his back to the throne and pulled on his long pointed ears whining in worry. "Whatta we gonna do? We have to get him back. If we don't and Zeus finds out he's gonna—"

**SMACK!**

"_Get a grip Panic!_" Pain snarled after materialising out of a pink shimmer and slapping his twin brother across the face. "We just have to go to the Fates and get them to tell us how to get Hades back, that's all. If we get the boss back Zeus won't ever have to know he was missing, right?"

"Right." Panic sighed feeling instantly more calm. "Let's go to their grotto."

"That's on the upper east side of the Underworld, right?" Pain said scratching head head trying to remember the location as he had always had difficulty committing facts to memory.

"Yeh, it's the level above the home of Hades' adoptive parents Nyx and Erebus." Panic replied smirking lightly and this made the chubby pink imp shudder.

"_Eurgh! _Erebus always gives me the willies." He uttered thinking of the ancient God of the Shadows and how he could just creep around making no noise and scare them without even trying to.

"Me too. But if we materialise over there we won't run into him." Panic quivered briefly trying not to think of the black shadowy god. His non-identical chubby pink twin brother nodded thinking this sounded like a solid plan and the two shimmered out into a poof of pink and green.

* * *

The Fates' grotto was located in a cave near to the surface world. This was so that should any mortal seek them out they could do so without trespassing too far into Hades's domain and not anger the temperamental fiery god, who was less than welcoming to visitors who were still alive and breathing. Despite their abode being more than spacious for the three old crones is was cramped and stuffy due to the Tapestry of Fate taking up nearly all the space.

"Well, look who finally showed up." Came the raspy voice of Clotho sounded drawing the yellow eyes of both Pain and Panic over to the three Fates crowded around the Tapestry of Fates. While the blue fate was throwing them a boney glare Atropos, the shortest lilac skinned fate with one eye socket exhaled.

"Late. I told you they would be." She added in a gravely voice, twiddling her scissors in her stubby fingers.

"Better late than never I suppose." Lachesis added as she twiddled with the threads on the tapestry, pausing to look around as she had their only eye in her left eye socket.

"We came because—" Pain began but was cut off by Clotho.

"Because Hades is stuck in the void between life and death and you want him back."

"We knew already." Atropos added casually as she pocketed her shears.

"So how do we get him back?" Panic asked curiously.

"We don't even know where he is." Pain added looking unsure. They had looked everywhere they could think of for him already with not a single flame in sight.

"You need a goddess who knows the cycle of life, only she will end your strife." Lachesis riffed as she returned to her work on the tapestry.

"You mean like Demeter?" The pink imp asked dimly as she was the only nature goddess he knew. This earned him a bonk on the head from Panic.

"Don't be stupid, why would Demeter wanna help us? We had her tied up with the rest of the gods when Hades took over Olympus, remember?" The skinny teal imp glared at his partner.

"You know someone else?" Pain argued back but this made Panic blink with the realisation that he did not.

"Um, can you ladies give us a hint on who can help us?" Panic turned to Atropos and Clotho. The two fates gave each other a withering look then reluctantly exhaled.

"On Sicily is the key to set Hades free, seek out the one called Persephone." Clotho said then sniffed back a spider that was trying to sneak out of her long nose.

"Persephone?" Pain scratched the mop of flopping burgundy hair between his horns in confusion.

"Never heard of her." Panic added with a shrug.

"Well, thanks anyway. Come on Panic we better go to Sicily and got get her." Pain grinned widely trying not to get too creeped out by the Fates that we're gazing at them through their hollow black eye socket. He gripped his skinnier partner and disappeared with him in tow into a pink shimmer.

"Shouldn't you have warned them about the shift in seasons if she stays down here too long?" Lachesis stopped in her work to scrutinise her shorter, older sister.

"_Nah.._" Atropos flicked her wrists dismissively. "They'll figure it out soon enough, trust me." There was a nasty smile twisting her withered looking lips.

* * *

**_Little Notes: _**

**_Hey guys, I hope you like the first chapter. As I stated in my blurb, this is a remake and is not connected to my original stories at all. So even though it's the same characters there you do not need to have read any of my other stories to follow this one. Now felt the right time to post this as September marks the 10 year anniversary of the original and since it was pretty popular I wanted to follow Disney's big trend of remaking their popular stuff.._**

**_As you may have noticed, Hades is absent from the beginning. Since I didn't do this in the original it felt necessary to go back and explore the consequences of Hades' absence thanks to Hercules smacking him into the Vortex of Phlegethon. This is not the official term for it, I think in the film it's just called the Vortex of fire but since in Greek myth the river of fire was called the Phlegethon river that's how I came to this name. _**

**_I would really love some opinions on this has been in development for some time now and I know that there are a few of you that will be happy they don't have to read my daunting story history here to understand this story. I have taken a hiatus from my other stories to focus on getting this one off the ground so the updates should be regular.. As always guys,_**

**_Stay tuned._**

**_A~Teal_**


	2. Persephone, Goddess of The— Blank!

**_Plight of Persephone_**

_Ok people, you know the score, I do not own Hercules, Disney does and even though they have not issued plans for a live action redo, give it time. Everything else seems to be getting the treatment so I wouldn't be shocked if it happened. And since Disney aren't entertaining the idea of a remake, I decided I would. Don't worry, you do not need to have read any of my other stories to read this one and the original is NOT going anywhere, it stays here where it belongs.. I do own this version of Persephone and all other original characters and places that come up, permission and advice is always given to those who want to use them but do tell me if you use my characters so I may view and comment on your work.. Just like the original I will be basing this story around Greek myths and twisting them around just like Disney did, I will also be reworking some of the original plot lines.. Please review and let me know your thoughts.. Thank you for your time. Enjoy! X_

* * *

_***~*~*CALLING ALL REVIEW CREW! COME ON DOWN! Those who have read my stories know that I reply to every single review before we commence with a new chapter, this has been the way since Daddy's Little Hellraiser and is not going to change. I welcome back the Review Section and encourage your comments, questions, ideas and even your complaints, they are important to me and every single one will be answered in this section (no matter how many I get, Swear by the Styx). In other words, you write me something and your name appears here with a reply, sweet huh? And yes, I do accept guest reviews.. *~*~***_

**_Reviews:_**

**_Princess Aaliyah: Why am I not surprised you are my first review hun. Thank you, I know your such a big fan of the original, you've stuck by me. Probably longer than most have, it means a lot. And I'm so glad your open to the plot changes, that makes me so happy. I look forward to your opinions going forward on this :3 X_**

**_DesertMortician: Thank you, I'm so glad you like the first chapter. I've been a little nervous about how it would be received. Still am, if I'm honest but the numbers are encouraging. I've noticed that this section still suffers from not including Pain and Panic as much a they probably should when they're writing about Hades. They always get kinda sidelined or forgotten but they're more than just comic relief. Hermes too has just as important a role as he did in the original, he's still going to end up playing a voice of reason and put upon Messenger God.. X_**

**_Guest: The name is a little impersonal so I will give you a tip for next time: if you click the little box where 'Guest' is written above where you write the review a cusor will appear and you can write a pen name for yourself.. But thanks, I'm glad your open to the new story. I hope it can hold up to expectations X_**

**_Guest(2): Yeh, I'm going to offer the same tip to you too as 'Guest' above got, this is why I encourage the use of a pen name so I don't get confused when replying to you guys. Thank you though, I'm so pleased you enjoyed the 1st chapter. This story will be very different from the original but the main plot points will be the same.. so I hope you will be back.. X_**

* * *

**_Chapter Two: Persephone, Goddess of The— Blank!_**

After having to consult the map of the Grecian world on the huge round table in the Underworld throne room the two imps finally figured out where Sicily was on the surface. To their great surprise it was actually located to the far west, further than they had ever gone before and almost right at the end of the known world.

"_Man_, what kinda hermit goddess lives that far away?" Panic grumbled as Pain scratched the base of his left horned ear that was surrounded by his mop of burgundy hair. He was still trying to make sense of the map before them. "It's waaay passed Italy."

"Maybe she doesn't like Zeus and wants to be as far away from him as possible?" The pink skinned imp suggested vaguely, shrugging unsurely proving that he really had no clue.

"Eh. I could buy that, he can be a bit much in large doses." The skinny teal imp nodded in agreement but this made Pain scowl.

"_Oh._ Like you've _ever_ spent more than five minutes with the guy!" The chubby pink imp retorted with his hands on his wide hips.

"_Exactly.._" Panic grinned hopping off the map and making his non-identical twin blink in shock at his quicker witted brother. "Now come on. We better get moving if we want to get to Sicily before nightfall."

"You think we could take the chariot?" Pain asked curiously and his skinner twin brother rolled his eyes.

"You wanna try wrangling the griffin?" Panic's words made the chubby pink imp gulp thickly the memory of the last time they had come eye to eye with that foul tempered beast instantly forming a pit of dread in his large stomach. Only Hades knew how to handle his griffin, it was always managed to outsmart them whenever they tried to get near it and it was far too fast for them, they usually ended up being pecked, scratched and beat up trying to put the bridal on.

"_Uh. _Good point." Pain responded before adding, "Just let me getta snack for the road."

"Oh yeh, adding to that pear shape, eh brother?" Panic snickered in amusement and this made Pain give his non-identical twin a deadpan expression as he manifested himself a tub of their mother's netherworld ghoulash..

"Just for that I'm not gonna share.." He suddenly smirked evilly and clutched the tub closer to him.

"Like there's ever any left _to_ _share_.." Panic grumbled under his breath with a slight frown watching his brother stuff his face. He wasn't even bothering to wait until they got to Sicily.

"What was that?" Pain's voice was muffled as he spoke with a mouthful of ghoulash while throwing his teal twin a suspicious look, missing what had been said.

"Nothing.." The skinny teal imp threw his twin a nervous smirk towards his larger twin, shoving his clawed hands behind his back trying to look innocent.

"So let's get going then." Pain rolled his eyes, tossed the empty tub away carelessly and shimmered out into pink, this made Panic's bug eyes widen at the abandoned tub. His big pupils darted timidly around automatically even though Hades was missing he didn't want them to test fate by leaving a mess, it was an instinctive nervous tick. The teal imp then snapped his fingers making the tub and it's mess vanish so the throne room looked clean and untouched, the way their pernickety boss liked it. With a sigh of relief he follow his partner in a shimmer of green..

* * *

The two imps weren't sure what to expect when they arrived on Sicily, in fact it took the pair so long to actually find the island that it was close to evening by the time they arrived. The two had gotten lost somewhere over the Ionian Sea before consulting a map and getting their bearings right. The two imps appeared in the valley of Enna where everything was so disgustingly cheery looking, the grass was lusciously green, the flowers were so bright and bold. Birds were twittering in the trees and at a nearby lake a few nymphs were gathered, giggling as they plaited flowers into each other's hair.

"Are you sure we got the right place Panic?" Pain asked his skinny teal partner with one eyebrow raised as he looked somewhat unnerved. "This place is weird."

"The map says this is the place.." Panic uttered as he pulled out the map and consulted it once more. "_Buuut_, it wouldn't be the first time we got trolled by the Fates.." He added with a slight frown as the map disappeared in a shimmer of green.

"They did say we need this goddess to find Hades though." The chubby pink imp said. "We can't just give up without finding her first just to be sure." He didn't want to just dismiss what the three old crones had told them, this seemed a long way to send them just to mess with them.

"So where do you wanna look for her first then?" Panic asked raising both his brows and folding his arms, silently challenging his brother to take point on this mission.

"I dunno.. Let's ask them." Pain pointed to the nymphs who had finished weaving flowers into each other's plaits and were giggling together as they soaked up the late afternoon sun. "They're bound to know where she is." Before Panic could verbalise his doubts about this plan the chubby pink imp was walking over to where the nymphs were while smoothing his unruly mop of burgundy hair, clearly trying to make himself more presentable.

"Hello ladies do you know where I can find Pers—" He didn't get to finish his question as the moment the nymphs took a look at him they took flight.

"_AAHHH!_"

"Ooh! Smooth move Apollo.." Panic snickered in amusement watching the nymphs scatter and manifest into various plants, one of them even disappearing under the surface of the water.

"Shut up Panic." Pain glowered at his skinny teal non-identical twin before a swirl of orbs appeared and another young looking girl with long blonde hair, white skin and a modestly cut knee length purple chiton.

"Alright Cya, what's bugging you now?" Her hands went to her hips and a deadpan look marred her pretty heart-shaped face, her olive green eyes narrowed in slight ire as if this was hardly the first time she had had to come out here for squealing nymphs. "_Oh!_" Those striking eyes widened in surprise as her cherry lips formed a perfect 'o' the moment she caught sight of them. She had been expecting another lusty satyr or even some god like Bacchus or Apollo to be hitting on her naiad friend Cyane who lived in the waters of Lake Pergus. She wasn't expecting two Underworld sprites. Persephone had heard of these two through Hermes so she knew who they were and who they worked for but what she couldn't understand was why they were all the way out here.

Pain recovered first from his own surprise at the new arrival while his more timid twin just seemed to stare unsurely.

"Hey sister, you wouldn't know where we could find a goddess named Persephone, would ya?" His casual address of her and his somewhat smarmy grin made it clear to the goddess that he, like so many before him, thought she was just another nymph. Curse her small stature, juvenile appearance and lacklustre aura.

"Who wants to know?" The youthful goddess kinked a brow with a playful smirk, feigning ignorance so she could find out what they wanted from her.

"He's Pain, I'm Panic and we're underlings of Hades." Panic explained quickly. "And we really need to speak with Persephone so if you don't mind.."

"But I do mind. Why would Hades send you two and not speak to her himself? I thought Hades liked to deal with deities _personally_." Persephone couldn't help the slightly bitter tone that escaped her mouth. Just because she was a minor deity with no real purpose didn't mean she should be treated lower than her fellows.

"Uh, usually he does but in this case he, uh, he can't be here." Pain said funding himself unable to articulate a viable excuse.

"Hades is _currently..._ Mu Iota Alpha." Panic exhaled then confessed somewhat reluctantly. "He hasn't been seen in three months."

"_What?_" Persephone exclaimed in shock, her green eyes widened in amazement and a little concern.

"_Oh Cora!_" This sudden loud, upbeat call made her blonde head swivel around in surprise before she suddenly looked panicked, turning back to the two minions.

"_Oh figs! _It's my mother, wait for me here." She exclaimed before waving a dainty hand and making both imps vanish into a swirl of orbs. Both imps cried out in shock as they dematerialised then reappeared into a gloomy looking grove of trees with a shadowy clearing of dark moss and blue grass.

"What kinda nymph was that?" Pain grumbled looking affronted at being cast out before finding himself hauled upright by his more spritely and slimmer teal twin brother.

"She's not a nymph!" Panic winced our in irritation, straining to help his weightier brother up.

"She's not?" The chubby pink imp responded confused.

"No, no nymph has the power to banish us. She must be Persephone." Panic replied in some irritation.

"Oh. So where did she banish us to?" Pain asked looking around as his skinny teal twin manifested the map out of a shimmer of green.

"I have no idea, this place isn't on the map." Panic finally uttered cratching his head trying to make sense of their new whereabouts.

"Hey, I like it here. It's dark, gloomy and kinda homey." Pain exclaimed and this made the smaller teal imp finally lower the map and look around properly.

"Well, it's not home per-say _buuut_ it's without it's charm.." The teal imp replied not wanting to be completely won over just yet.

"And look! It's got figs and pomegranates." Pain added excitedly seeing that there were bushes of familiar fruit to him. He plucked a fig from the bush and broke it in half, taking a bite out of it. His yellow eyes widened in surprise before shoving the other uneaten half towards his twin's long beak-like nose. "_Oh-mi-gods! _You have to try this, I've never tasted a fig this sweet!" Purely because Pain was actually offering to share food with him, for once, did the teal imp make the map disappear into a shimmer of green and accept the fruit. While his chubby pink brother wolfed the rest of his half Panic sniffed the innocent looking fruit. It seemed ok so he took a bite and found his tastebuds were overcome with the sweet taste.

"Hey, this the juiciest fig I have ever had!" He exclaimed brightly taking a second bite keenly, humming in satisfaction then swallowing. His large yellow eyes roving around the gloomy looking grove as he took in the tall crooked trees that blotted out most of the sun, keeping this place cool and shaded. The flowers were unlike anything else he had seen on Sicily, they were more muted in colour with a softer perfume that did not sting the nose and make his eyes water while the grass on there feet was blue, not green. This place had a calming effect on the nervy imp with the kind of security he usually could only find in his subterranean home. He wouldn't admit it to his chubby pink brother, who was on his second fig, but he did kinda like this place too..

* * *

"Oh. There you are Cora sweetpea." Demeter's voice was warm and motherly, bursting with optimism just like always and in response Persephone held back the urge to roll her eyes, instead she buried her disdain for her mother's perkiness and flashed a false, vapid girly smile. The green skinned Goddess of Nature cupped her daughter's pointed chin and studied her pale white complexion with cornflower blue eyes of disappointment. "You've been sitting in that grove again. It's not right for goddesses of nature to hide from the sun and you look lovely with a healthy lilac tan."

"But I don't like having a tan—" Persephone started to say but was cut off by a dismissive wave of her mother's tiny hand.

"Nonsense! Now, I didn't come here to argue Cora. I came to see if you would join me for the Harvest Celebrations on Olympus. Zeus says your detainment is over and you can leave the island now." She paused looking over her daughter's complexion once more. "Though Gaia only knows what you could wear as your good white chitons will only wash out your pale face." She then looked suddenly perky once more. "Oh, I know. How about a lovely shade of rose pink? I'm sure the nymphs could rustle you up a nice dress chiton in a modest cut."

"It's ok mom, really. I don't want to go to Olympus so I won't need the dress." Persephone replied with an uneasy grin, thinking that she would look just as bad in a shapeless pale pink chiton as she did in the white ones in her closet.

"Come on pumpkin, Hermes will be there.." Demeter trilled as if this was supposed to coax her into going. "I know you like spending time with him and you two are so darling together.."

"_Mom_, we're just friends. I don't see him in that way and he feels the same." The youthful looking goddess said with a smile.

"Oh. Are you sure? His mother is a friend of mine and she seems to think otherwise." Demeter replied blinking her blue eyes in some confusion and this made Persephone roll her green eyes for real this time.

"He told her that so she would stop hassling him about finding a nice dryad and slowing down." She paused to tap her chin and think how long it had been since she had agreed to pretend to be his girlfriend. "Hmh, surprised that is still ongoing actually." Persephone made a mental note to talk to Hermes about that.

"Persephone! That's dishonest!" Demeter looked appalled by this revelation.

"Hey, it was Hermes' idea, not mine." The white skinned goddess replied with no regret about joining in on his lie. "I just went along with it in the hopes it would get Apollo off my back." She added batting her eyelashes in innocence.

"Oh dear. Is he still bothering you? I _did_ have words with him about that but if he's still persisting I could talk to his mother." The ample green goddess frowned a little in disapproval but Persephone quickly shook her head.

"No. No. He hasn't been to see me in a while mom." The blonde goddess said placating her mother, it was true. She had not seen the purple skinned sleazebag since her mother had had words with him, he had thankfully been keeping his distance.

"Oh good. Are you sure you don't want to come with me to Olympus sweetpea? You know I'm going to be very busy with the harvest season immediately after. We won't get to spend any time together. You won't get lonely out here by yourself, will you?" Demeter threw her daughter a somewhat concerned frown. Sicily was far out the way of Olympus. She had settled here originally to raise her daughter in peace without the interference from the other gods but now Persephone was older and the green goddess was never as home as much as she used to be she felt guilty for keeping her sequestered here. Not that Demeter would stop her daughter from leaving if she wanted too, as long as she knew where she was going first. Persephone was a very attractive young goddess, more so than perhaps she even realised. She had had a long list of suitors and even Zeus was now suggesting that it was time that Persephone start considering these potential dates before Aphrodite made the decision for her. Demeter often worried about her daughter's future outside the safety of her Sicilian home where Zeus allowed her to keep Persephone safe. It wouldn't be long now before she 'flew the nest', hopefully with a purpose and not a husband first.

"I'll be fine. The nymphs are here, Bacchus will probably drop in and Hermes will stop by to keep me company. Don't worry, I'm used to being on my own. I understand how important your duties are mom, the mortals need you more than me." Persephone was saying smiling brightly, unconcerned by her mother being absent, it was not unusual for her to be gone for weeks on end during the harvest season. The young goddess, who was used to solitude and liked these moments as she was able to just be herself instead of the girl everyone thought she was.

"You know I just want what's best you sweetpea, I only want to see you happy." Demeter gave her daughter a watery smile, reluctant to leave her daughter alone.

"I know mom but you should go. You don't want to be late for the Olympus Celebrations, your the goddess of the season. That would be rude." Persephone said with a gentle smile and immediately Demeter clutched her much slimmer daughter close to her ample frame and large bosom, stroking her long blonde hair as she cuddled her tenderly.

"I love you Cora, be safe my darling." The green skinned goddess with short strawberry blonde curls coming out of her corn wreath headress spoke in a warm tone which wasn't without a little concern. Persephone hugged her mother back tightly with a genuine smile, they didn't always agree on everything but she still adored her mother.

"I will. Love you too mom." She sighed as her mother gave her a kiss on the cheek before the green goddess manifested a large orange tulip then it vanished back into the ground taking the Goddess of Nature with it. Persephone exhaled heavily before vanishing out in a swirl of bright white orbs to speak with Hades' two minions who she had sent to her private grove moments before her mother had found her by Lake Pergus..

* * *

The blonde goddess appeared inside her private grove making the skinny teal imp jump in shock at her arrival then throw her a wide simpering grin, breathing uneasily as his eyes darted nervously to his chubby pink non-identical twin who was groaning clutching his stomach. Persephone looked concerned at the minion and bent down so she was closer to his partner.

"What happened?"

"He has indigestion, he ate too many figs." Panic replied pointing to the dark fig skins that were littered nearby.

"Oh. Hold on, I have something here for that." The young goddess said before getting up and foraging through nearby foliage before snapping off leaves of a plant. As the small teal imp watched as she summoned a clay cup placing the leaves in with some water from a small freshwater spring in the small clearing of her grove. Holding the cup still her hand glowed white and the water boiled quickly. She then moved over to Pain, who was still sitting on the blue grass under a fig tree. Persephone smiled sweetly offering him the cup. "Here, drink this."

Pain accepted the cup without question and downed the contents leaving the wet leaves at the bottom.

"What was that?" Panic asked her curiously.

"Peppermint tea." Persephone replied and smiled as the chubby pink imp sighed in relief rubbing his large belly then standing up.

"Thanks, that really did the trick." Pain said feeling his digestion return to normal.

"How'd you know that would work?" Panic chipped in somewhat impressed and making a mental note to remember her tip, this was hardly the first time Pain would gorge himself and get an ungodly cramp.

"I know a lot about herbal remedies." The white skinned goddess said lightly. "Comes with the territory of being a nature goddess."

"So you are Persephone then." Pain shot the young goddess an accusatory finger and the youthful white skinned goddess exhaled.

"Yes. Fine, you got me. Probably gave that away when I sent you here to my private grove, didn't I?" She added causing the cup he had tossed and the abandoned fig peels to vanish into a swirl of white orbs as she didn't like mess in her grove.

"Yeh. Nothin' gets passed us sister!" Panic exclaimed jabbing a finger towards the youthful looking goddess before remembering she was divinity, his horned ears dropped as he deflated, submitting to her superiority. His breathing quickened as he trembled. "I-I mean, your loveliness.. heheheh." Persephone kinked a brow in confusion at his cowering form.

"What are you doing?" She asked unsurely as the teal imp prostrated himself before her.

"He's uh, grovelling to you—" Pain uttered looking from his untouched brother to the goddess, not understanding why she wasn't smiting him for speaking out of turn like Hades would have. "-so you won't smite him."

"Oh. He doesn't have to do that." Persephone giggled lightly, placing one hand over her bosom as it jiggled with her eddying laughter.

"I don't?" Panic's large ears perked up as he peeled himself off the blue grassy floor.

"No.. I might be a goddess but I have no purpose so you have no need to fear a smiting." She smiled brightly at the two imps.

"You don't have a job?" Pain cried out in shock actually falling back into his rear at this news.

"Oh great. The Fates sent us after a newbie." Panic slapped his face in disbelief. They really did get trolled.

"Now look, I might not have a job but that doesn't mean I can't help you out.." Persephone implored. "If anything it's better this way. Nobody will miss me while I'm downstairs."

"She does have a point there Panic." The chubby pink imp with the mop of dark reddish pink hair said in agreement.

"Ok, ok, your probably right.." The skinny teal imp drawled in agreement.

"So tell me about the last time you saw Hades." Persephone asked kindly, settling herself down in her favourite spot under a large willow tree with a curtain of thick branches and patting the ground, inviting the pair to join her. The two imps then scampered up into the rock that Hermes would usually occupy when stopping in. Then the pair immediately launched into the events in the Underworld after the big battle on Olympus, of how Hercules had smashed Hades straight into the Vortex of Phlegethon and how he hadn't reappeared yet..

"So we went to the Fates to find out how to get him back." Pain began wrapping up the story.

"And they sent us to you, so will you please come help us find him before Zeus finds out he's missing and smites us." Panic pleaded jumping forward and grabbing the front of her one strap purple chiton with the pink pomegranate clasp.

"Alright, since the balance of life is under threat I'll come but first I need to cover my basis with my mom." Persephone replied standing up and calling out, "Hermes, I need a favour you gotta sec?"

"Hey! You can't call Hermes!" Panic snapped.

"He'll rat us out to Zeus!" Pain added angrily.

"No he won't, you'll see." Persephone giggled lightly with a slight smirk as a neon blue light rushed into her grove revealing Hermes looking eager.

"Seph, babe, make it quick girl. You caught me at a bad time I got, like, a zillion things to do before the Harvest Celebrations tonight." The blue god uttered looking somewhat stressed out.

"I know, sorry but do you think you could tell mom I'll be in the Underworld with these two if she needs me?" Persephone asked kindly and whatever Hermes had expected to hear this was not at the top of the list.

"_What? _Ok, your gonna have to run this by me, why do ya wanna go down there?" The blue god looked confused scratching this dark blue hair at the side of his gold hat with wings.

"Bottom line: Hades hasn't returned from his trip down the Phlegethon and the Fates think I can bring him back. Without him the balance between life and death will be uneven. I have to go. Mom will understand." Persephone explained but Hermes shook his head.

"_Hades is missing!_" This seemed to be the only thing he took in. The small blue god looked alarmed by this new information. "I should tell Zeus—"

"_NO!_" Both Persephone and the two imps cried out together and this finally drew his attention to Hades' minions as he hadn't spotted them before this point.

"Hey, what are you two doin' here?" Hermes said with a suspicious look to Hades' minions.

"The Fates sent us to get Persephone." Pain spoke confidently.

"Yeh and you know you don't mess with them." Panic added folding his arms across his chest.

"Yeh, ok.. I'm gonna have to check that out with the Fates next time I'm in their area." Hermes drawled looking doubtful by their story before turning back to his best friend. "You sure you wanna go with them Seph?"

"Hermes, I'll be fine, you know I can handle myself." Persephone's cherry red lips smirked playfully.

"Oh yeh, no convincing needed here, that's for sure babe." The blue god fluttered down standing beside her revealing the pair to be exactly the same height as one another.

"Besides, weren't you just telling me to 'seize the day'?" She added bumping her best friend playfully with her hip making him wobble a little but grin back.

"So your gonna take my advice? Ok then, you go girl! Yeh!" His sandals fluttered upwards taking him with them. "Oh. And call me if you need anything. I'm always here for ya. Ciao babe!" He added brightly before wooshing off in a blue blur.

"Don't forget to tell my mom Hermes!" She called out after him as she knew that he could sometimes forget things in his haste to finish up early, he was far from perfect.

"So, are you ready to go?" Panic asked the young goddess with a keen smile.

"Alright, you guys better guide me there as I don't know where to materialise to." She exhaled and immediately Pain and Panic seized one of her hands each.

"Her skin is so soft, I'll never wash this claw again." Pain sighed dreamily as he was close enough to smell the sweet scent of her alluring perfume and her touch was as soft as flower petals.

"Knock it off you idiot." Panic replied bonking him on the head. "We gotta job t'do, remember?" His large yellow eyes rolled before he flashed a simpering grin to Persephone. "Sorry about him, he doesn't talk to girls often."

"Hmh. I see." Persephone smiled lightly in amusement.

"Alright, Hades, here we come!" Pain said shaking his head, recovering quickly from his swooning over the pretty young goddess and the two imps vanished into shimmers taking Persephone with them..

* * *

**Little Notes: Hey guys! Like I promised this new update is coming to you a lot sooner than a year, just want to prove how serious I am about this. The response to the 1st chapter was so much better than I expected and I am so happy that your all open to the redo, I was worried that it wouldn't go down well as I know the original is pretty popular.**

**Ok, first little myth fact of the story. Persephone being carted off to the Underworld by Hades is actually a very late edition to Greek Myths. The older myths say she actually heard the cries of the dammed souls for herself and followed them down, in fact in the very old days she was actually considered the Ruler of the Underworld and has been around far longer than Hades himself and Demeter.. So for this story I decided to explore the older segments of myth unlike I did in the original, though there will still be more of them to come..**

**Anyway, enjoy this new chap and as always..**

**Stay tuned,**

**A~Teal**


	3. A Realm With No Master

**_Plight of Persephone_**

_Ok people, you know the score, I do not own Hercules, Disney does and even though they have not issued plans for a live action redo, give it time. Everything else seems to be getting the treatment so I wouldn't be shocked if it happened. And since Disney aren't entertaining the idea of a remake, I decided I would. Don't worry, you do not need to have read any of my other stories to read this one and the original is NOT going anywhere, it stays here where it belongs.. I do own this version of Persephone and all other original characters and places that come up, permission and advice is always given to those who want to use them but do tell me if you use my characters so I may view and comment on your work.. Just like the original I will be basing this story around Greek myths and twisting them around just like Disney did, I will also be reworking some of the original plot lines.. Please review and let me know your thoughts.. Thank you for your time. Enjoy! X_

* * *

**_Reviews:_**

**DesertMortician: Misstep? Should I be worried? I mean I am going through the ol' don't write down any plot points or make any kinda character notes route I took with the original story but I do have the basics planned, the rest will just write itself. The story always flows more naturally that way and even I can be surprised by the direction it takes. And I agree with you, I miss Hades too and he will be back soon along with his vicious temper when he realises his long he has been 'out of it'.. I don't think the chapters are that bad. The original P.o.P chaps average at 2.5k-3.5k while the1st two chaps here are 5k average each. They certainly aren't as long as the chaps were by T.i.o.T which were closer to 6k but they aren't short X**

* * *

_**Chapter Three: A Realm With No Master**_

As usual the cloudy coliseum of Olympus was heaving, for the Harvest Celebrations this was normal. Demeter's season always drew a big crowd with the promise of a great feast and plenty of booze. Everyone was having a great time, well, almost everyone. Hermes was flitting in and out of the crowd, as matradee of the whole event he was chatting with gods and insuring that everything was going smoothly behind the scenes with the cherubs. Unlike the other gods he didn't actually get to enjoy himself too much at these things and unfortunately his best friend wasn't here to help him out by keeping his mind on track with his 'to do list' so he was flying solo, so to speak.

On that note he was certain that Persephone had asked him to do something very important for her but he couldn't for the life of him remember what it was.. As the tiny blue god took a quick survey of the wine and nectar supply he tried to rack his brain on what it was he was supposed to remember, it seemed Bacchus had got here early and he was grateful he was ready for such a situation. He had learnt his lesson from Hercules' Birth Celebration when the God of Parties had single handedly drunk them dry. And oh boy, he had not been allowed to live that down since. He made one slight underestimation and his Lord and master reminded him about every occasion since.

"Seems the nectar is running low Hermes.." Came a distinctly familiar booming voice laced with some amusement.

_Speak of the god himself.._

"Already on it chief." The tiny blue god replied cheerfully using two fingers on his right hand to call a couple of cherubs, "Better get another nectar keg from the back guys, we gotta heavy drinking crowd tonight." The two cherubs cooked and nodded keenly before disappearing off to retrieve a new keg.

"So I see." Zeus replied cheerfully as the tiny god took his empty goblet and filled it for him. Within moments the two cherubs appeared with the new keg. "You should slow down Hermes, enjoy the celebrations a bit." The golden tanned god was saying as Hermes removed the empty nectar keg, giving it to the cherubs to take away and replacing it with the full one.

"I am sir but with all due respect my job, which you by the way bestowed on me, if that ain't too nutty, means I gotta oversee the details so my free time is limited. Not that I'm complaining or anything like that, someone's gotta do it, I'm just being honest." The blue god replied warmly. He loved his job, despite the fact that it left him with very little time to himself. On reflection this was probably a good thing, he got bored easily and when Hermes got bored he liked to make things more 'interesting' and trouble tended to ensue..

"It was for your own good Hermes, you know that." Zeus stated hardly able to forget what mischief Hermes had been causing before he had made him Messenger of the Gods and his herald. "I just meant that maybe you oughta spend a little time with that girlfriend of yours, huh? Don't want to be giving her the cold shoulder all night." The golden tanned god nudged the tiny god playfully winking, making Hermes drop an inch in height due to the force and bob in the air wincing at his strength.

"_Girlfriend?_" The small blue god spluttered out in surprise, violet eyes widened behind his rose tinted specs.

"Yes. Your mother was telling me all about you and Persephone when I saw her the other day. _Hah! _Apollo will be green with envy when he finds out, I hear Demeter's daughter is quite the looker." The Lord of Olympus added conversationally with a wide smile, clearly fishing for details now as he had not seen Persephone since she had gone missing for that breif spell as a small girl but she would have to be a total knockout now to attract Apollo's attention as he only went for the best looking girls.

"Zeus, I'll level with ya babe. Persephone and I are just good friends, that's all. I only told my mother we were dating so she would get off my case about slowing down and finding a nice wood nymph to settle with." Hermes admitted with a heavy sigh, trying to avoid the disappointment sky blue eyes of his boss.

"_Hermes.._" Zeus clucked his tongue in his distaste. "You shouldn't lie to your mother like that. I take it Persephone is in on this deception, isn't she?" He added with a stern edge to his voice, folding his large muscly arms together.

"She wanted Apollo off her back, the guy had been persuing her for months and wouldn't take the hint that she wasn't down. It was like hittin' two harpies with the same rock, made sense at the time big guy." The smaller stockier blue god replied earnestly.

"You should've just come and spoke to me if she wasn't interested, I woulda put a bolt in his hide if he wasn't taking no for an answer. A god has to win a girl over, it's not the Bronze Age now, you can't cuckoo her then declare she's your wife, you have to show respect." The golden tanned god replied still remembering the headache he had gotten from Hera, Aphrodite and Athena on that subject. It was one of the very rare times those three actually banded together on a subject and he only caved to shut them up.

"Yeh man!" Hermes immediately chipped in. "R-E-S-P-E-C-T that's what it's all about." Zeus waved him off not wanting to hear any more.

"Yes, yes.." The golden tanned god did not want to be side tracked. "Just promise me you will tell your mother the truth next time you see her."

"Oh yeh, no problem. I'll be sure to do that." Hermes replied a little too quickly making the King of the Gods frown knowing what he was thinking.

"And don't try avoiding her Hermes, I'll know." He added and this made the small blue god grin as widely as he could muster.

"Perish the thought Big Z, I would never stoop that low." This seemed to satisfy the Ruler of Olympus and he scooped up his goblet of nectar and moved away. Immediately Hermes lowered himself down and learnt against the white tablecloth covered table with a slight frown.

"Ah nuts. He knows me too well.." The blue god frowned in slight annoyance before his mind wandered back onto what had been bugging him before his boss had interrupted him. "Now, what was it that Persephone wanted me to do, had something to do with her mother, I'm sure of it."

* * *

The moment Persephone materialised inside the gloomy realm of the Underworld her ghostly lacklustre aura glowed brighter, turning star white and she now seemed luminous in the dark. Both Pain and Panic blinked, squinting as their yellow eyes as they adjusted to the sudden change. Persephone wanted to know where Hades' office was so she could see if he had a blue scroll of his realm, that way she could learn the layout and figure out where he could have gone. While there she could riffle through his paperwork and see if she could help get his realm running once more. The youthful goddess had never been shy of hard work, she may not have a purpose but she had helped her mother out often enough to understand how important the gods' individual purposes were. Sure, this realm was nothing like the duties her mother had but Persephone was a quick study and she was determined and driven when she needed to be. Before she could ask the imps to show her where Hades kept his paperwork the voices started up once more, this time they where louder and more audible:

..._Help... Help me... Please... Where am I? ...What do I do? ...Where do I go?... _

She had to hit the side of her head to make the voices fade into nothing. It was in this moment that she realised with slight shock that the voices she must have been hearing were voices of the dead. It brought her more questions than real answers, the most pressing was: Why her?

"Are you ok your loveliness?" Pain's concerned voice broke her thoughts making her blink her green eyes bringing the two minions of Hades into focus once more, both looking somewhat anxiously at her.

"Um, yeh.. Fine." She replied still feeling a little disoriented by the change in realm, the atmosphere was denser than it was in the surface while the air seemed thicker too and she was not used to the changes. "Just need to find my bearings and please, call me Persephone." She added with a kind smile and this made both imps inhale in some shock. Centuries of physical abuse and etiquette education on how to address deities with due respect meant this would be a difficult thing to accept.

"So... Miss Persephone, can we offer you the tour?" Panic asked then hyperventilated a little through his toothy grin obviously feeling that even just putting 'miss' in front of her name seemed too brazen for him.

"Soon, but first could you tell me if Hades has an office? Somewhere where he stored paperwork?" She asked and immediately Pain nodded.

"Yeh, it's down this hall. I'll show you, c'mon." The pink imp replied eagerly moving across the dark stone floor of the throne room where they had materialised into. It was only now did her eyes travel around the throne room. Although the imps had obviously attempted a clean up it was clear that their limited abilities were not enough to repair the damage that had befallen this room. There was a huge gaping hole in the round domed ceiling revealling the dark abyss above, the rubble that it had left had been pushed to the side and the dust had been cleaned up. There were scorch marks burned around the walls of the throne room, in front of the enormous stone throne and across the huge round map at the far side of the huge room. Hades had definitely had one of those volatile tempers which unleashed the true ferocity of his flames, Hermes had told her of these before but she had never witnessed the damage they could inflict until now. This one could only have been caused by the failure of his takeover plans for Olympus. Unlike the other gods she had not been on the cloud when he had struck, her detainment on Sicily had not long started then but she was curious about what would have happened to her afterwards if he had succeeded. She, of course, was no threat to him as she was a minor goddess but it didn't stop her wondering what he would have done when he finally tracked her down.

"Après vous.." Panic's voice drew her to the two imps who were both grinning, bent over and gesturing her through the darkened doorway. Persephone smiled sweetly at them and quickly crossed the room, stopping when an eerie glow of green pulsed from a doorway adjacent to where they were now stood. Along the top of a doorway was a sign with a counter reading: **_OVER 500000031 SERVED_**

"What's down there?" Persephone asked curiously pointing towards the door making Pain and Panic turn to where she was looking.

"Oh. That's the Vortex of the Phlegethon where Hades was punched in by Hercules." A look of fear was exchanged by the pair, neither of them were willing to go in there. This was clearly why business was lacking, thirty souls taken care of in three months sounded like a poor work performance, no doubt Hades would be livid if he found out about this. They obviously needed a good prodding to get back to work and as soon as she figured out what it was she needed to do she would issue it to them.

"I see." Persephone replied before walking through the doorway.

Hades' office was the same dark walled, gloomy looking room as the rest of his home. There was a large imposing stone desk at the end of the room by a circular stone window. The front had carved detailing of bones and skulls which was fitting for the realm it was in. There was a black bony swivel chair behind the desk that was almost the same height as her and much wider. Persephone knew he was a taller than most gods and would no doubt tower over her but even the size of the chair surprised her. The top of the desk was neat and orderly just a bony quill, ink clay well and some yet to be filed paperwork. Curiously she picked up the stack of scrolls with bony dowels and began looking through them, taking in the hurried scrawl of Hades' handwriting. The scrolls on the desk were mostly New Arrival Forms which were very illuminating on how Hades ran his Underworld and as Persephone continued through his scrolls she began noticing something that was a little alarming, there was no mention of what happened to good souls, did he not get to see them at all? Did he only deal with the bad and the unremarkable, was there nothing to look forward to at all? She frowned a little as she turned to the large stone filing cabinet. The blonde goddess opened it and began riffling through it, again finding nothing on the good souls of the Underworld. What happened to the nice souls in this place? It didn't take the goddess long to make sense of Hades' filing system, in fact it was alphabetical just like Hermes', she was grateful that she had interned for her best friend a few times during the summer months when he was at his busiest and he had taught her all about office work. Persephone swiftly managed to file everything away nice and neat before she turned her attention to finding that blue scroll she wanted, which she eventually located in a cubby hole behind the desk.

* * *

"Here, help me unfurl this, will you?" Persephone asked in a sweet and polite voice as she appeared in the throne room where the imps had retreated to after leaving her to rummage around in Hades' office. Though her tone was sweet and kind, this was a request and not an order, something Pain and Panic weren't used to so they acted like it was a direct order as this was the norm for them.

"Right away miss." They intoned in unison, scrambling up onto the map board and gripping the ends of the blue scroll, pulling it out as Persephone grabbed some of the bigger charred figures that had been sat at the sides. Once the edges were held down both imps let go of the sides they were holding and stepped to the opposite side of the blue scroll to Persephone.

"Wow, this place is huge.." The youthful white skinned goddess' mouth fell open in disbelief at the immense size of Hades' realm.

"Yeh, I think it's three times the size of the surface if I remember correctly. Hades is the only one who knows the whole place by heart." Panic said as his eyes roved over his home realm, there was plenty of places in it he and his twin had never seen before.

"So why did Hades want Olympus so bad?" Persephone asked unsure why he would want that cloudy wasteland when he had a vast realm that was far more interesting than anything the surface could offer.

"This place is dark, gloomy and full of dead stiffs and they ain't too lively, trust me." Pain replied and his skinny partner nodded, this made Persephone pity him, finally beginning to understand what fuelled his vendetta against Zeus and the rest of their immortal family.

"It's also peaceful, warm and there are no other gods being petty, dishonest and shoving their oar where it don't belong." The blonde teenage looking goddess added and the note of bitterness was hardly missed by the two imps who flashed a glance at each other a look. They knew anyone who could view the Underworld in a positive light was clearly running from some problems on the surface but they kept their curiosity to themselves, they had learned the hard way that asking was not a good idea. The goddess was grateful that they did not challenge her words, perhaps it was odd that she automatically felt right at home in the dark and gloomy realms but there was something freeing about being here, away from everyone else. Her green eyes roved over the huge map laid out over the blue scrolls detailing the realm she was stood in, looking over the realm in more detail, taking in everything including the fact that it appeared to have multiple levels to it.

"What's this place?" She asked noting that there was a place just to the west of them that only had two words written on it: **Elysian Fields**. It was not mapped out like the rest of his realm, it' boarder was outlined but that was it. It was like Hades had no idea what was there.

"That's the refuge of fallen heroes." Panic replied. "Hades can't enter there."

"Yeh, Zeus made it that way." Pain added and both imps exchanged an uncomfortable look. "I guess he didn't trust the boss with it."

"Oh." Persephone was shocked, she hadn't expected to hear anything like that. He was closed off from a part section of his own realm. Just what had happened in the past to force Zeus to resort to such a thing. Although it did explain why the Lord of the Dead did not see anything more than the mundane and the evil, with so much negativity in his life it wasn't surprising that he had fallen into the guise of the monster that so many believed he was. Silence befell the room as Persephone studied the map, pinpointing the Vortex of Phlegethon and noting that it swirled straight into the Fall of Lethe above the pool out back..

"Uh, Miss Persephone?" Pain's tentative voice interrupted her musings on the possibility of Hades being lost somewhere with no memory of who he truly was. These thoughts untangled as the youthful goddess lifted her head, tucked a loose curl of blonde hair behind a pixie-like sharp ear and looked towards the two imps. Panic was grinning trembling with nerves waiting for her to smote his brother for breaking her concentration like Hades had done so many times before. "W-would you like us to show you the ropes on doom service?"

"We can't do that, she hasn't been through orientation yet." Panic gasped and clasped a hand over his chubby brother's mouth only for the pink imp to wrench him off. "Everyone goes through orientation."

"I thought that was just for minions?" Pain queried with a slight frown as his skinnier teal brother struggled out of his grip.

"No, it's—" Panic broke off from his rebuttal into a breif pause of silence, unable to qualify that this was actually the case or not. He scuttled back and forth rubbing his chin before swivelling to his brother. "Actually, I don't know. You think we can risk it?" He asked his chubbier non-identical twin unsurely, he had never been good at openly defying Hades' orders on the running of business he needed Pain to reassure him it was ok and they'd be safe from getting flambéd.

"Hades isn't here to roast us now, is he?" The chubby imp with the burgundy mop of hair did not disappoint.

"_Hrrrrm_.. Alright _fine_, but your taking the blame if your wrong about this." Panic uttered unconvinced and completely ready to throw his twin brother under the flying chariot if he was mistaken about this when they eventually brought Hades back. Pain waved him off unconcerned before turning to Persephone.

"So, ready to take a stab at overseeing the new arrivals of Club Dead?" He asked felling optimistic about getting the numbers back on track now they had an immortal deity at the helm again. If they were going to bring Hades back they had to get this realm working again to avoid facing his wrath about being so far behind with business.

"Well I did study a few of the already submitted New Arrival Forms and I am a fast learner so, let's do it." Persephone declared brightly and immediately Pain and Panic summoner their usual clipboards and crow feather quills then grinned brightly at her.

"Pain.." The pink imp declared.

"And Panic.." His teal skinny twin chimed in.

"Reporting for duty!" They both beamed brightly eager to get back to work under new 'temporary' management.

"Alright then boys, lead the way." Persephone beamed back keen to see if she could help lighten Hades' eventual load while she considered the possibilities of his current location.

* * *

Within days of being in the Underworld Persephone's sympathy for the Lord of the Dead had grown as she experienced the daily grind. She had always been quite intelligent and it only took her a couple of hours to really get to grips with processing new souls. Her presence and kind demeanour made the spirits feel instantly calm, she tried her hardest to make them feel welcome and sooth the nerves of the ones who were uncomfortable. The three dead mortal kings that were running the judgement booths on Doom Service were very supporting and respectful to her, glad that somebody from the surface realms was helping them out. They were great judges of character and they could tell that she was the just and fair figurehead they needed in their master's absence.

The imps often tested her paitience. Panic was clearly the slightly more intelligent of the two but his demeanour was so jittery and unpredictable that he often lost his concentration or footing and seemed to be perpetually waiting for a smiting. Persephone could tell he was also the less confident of the two as he often doubted his own abilities and knowledge often turning to his chubbier brother for reassurance. Pain was definitely more vocal, keen to help her out as best he could but he was also more clumsy and careless, often tripping, not looking where he was going or crashing into things. He clearly didn't have the same mental capacity as his skinnier partner, who could recall things vividly when he was not freaking out over something, he was forgetful and easily distracted by small inane things that he found fascinating and Persephone was quick to note that he was often the first to always put himself forward for a job. Fortunately for them the blonde goddess was not as easily angered by their quirks as Hades had been but even she had her breaking moments. Instead of smiting them she would just excuse herself and go for a solitary walk along the grounds near the House of Hades, often finding herself drawn to the Pool of Lethe.

The white skinned goddess didn't know why she was always drawn to this place, possibly because it was directly below the Vortex of Phlegethon. She had been down in the Underworld for almost a week now and had heard nothing from Hermes reguarding her mother so she just presumed that her only parent was fine with her being here. When she finally restored Hades to power she would check in with her mother and Hermes to see if she had missed anything, doubting anyone else would miss her since her brother had decided that this winter he was going to wander Asia Minor for a while. Unfortunately she was no closer to figuring out where Hades had gone after he had been punched into the Phlegethon, she had scoured the blue scroll maps to try figure out where the lost souls went. According to the imps the ones that didn't move around the Pool of Lethe went to the Asphodel Fields. So on her fifth day the goddess had left the imps to their work at the docks to go and investigate this part of the Underworld. She had been amazed to find a huge expanse of dark land filled with long stemmed ghostly pink flowers that seemed to glow eerily in the darkness of the gloomy realm, the gentle perfume of these plants filled the endless fields with its tall crooked looking dark cypresses and pale white poplar trees that bore no flowers or leaves. Where did these plants come from? From what she had heard of Hades's abilities he had the power to take life away, not restore or create it out of nothing. She knew she had those abilities but she had never been here before so it couldn't possibly have been her. Though the souls in that strange place had no memory of themselves they were insistent that they had not seen anyone of the description she had given them of Hades.

So here she was again, sitting by the Pool of Lethe trying to figure out where the rightful Lord of the Dead was once again. Around her was a strange assortment of beach furniture and barbecue equipment that she couldn't quite understand the point of. This was a natural pool, not a swimming pool, it deserved a nice garden setting rather than this tacky scene it had going now but she dared not do anything in case it brought on a ferocious rage from Hades, a god she barely knew who was the rightful owner of this realm. Sighing heavily the youthful goddess got up intending to rejoin the imps by the docks ready to greet any new arrivals that would join them before retiring to finish off the paperwork from the day's takings and add the daily soul count to the progress graph that highlighted the Underworld's takings. Thanks to Hades' stunt with the Titans and the fact that Persephone and the imps had worked hard to catch up with the workload it was becoming obvious that this year's intake was going to be higher than usual. Before she could move away some kind of moving ripped black material caught her attention behind of the Fall of Lethe in a small recess of water continually being mixed up by the churning waters. Curious now the young goddess stepped forwards tentatively, unsure what it was she was seeing until she came to the banks of the Pool of Lethe.. Out of the black material was the edge of a grey shirt arm with a muscled greyish-blue arm and the glinting of a silver skull shaped chiton pin.

Her green eyes widened in alarm as she realised who she had finally managed to find, trapped by the perpetually churning of the fall waters. Immediately she pulled out some seeds from the pocket of her dark purple knee length chiton and tossed them down, two snares immediately browning out of the stony ground and descending into the waters at her will, wrapping around the submerged, battered looking, unconscious god, caught in the waters of the pool of forgetfulness. As they dragged him out of the waters the young goddess let out a shrill cry, calling the only two beings she could think of to come to her aid.

"_Pain! Panic!_"

* * *

**_Little Notes: Hi guys, meant to say this last week but totally forgot to say but thank you so much for the favourites, they mean so much and glad that you guys are liking the story. I even appreciate the silent veiwers that just come in, boost my numbers and leave without saying anything, as long as this story makes you happy and you want to read it that's all that matters to me._**

**_Anyway, back to the story. I wanted to write a bit more early on about Hades' realm as that becomes important in the next chapter as well as the part where Persephone has gone missing before, that's going to come into play next chapter too, it should all be very exciting. There will also be more from Hermes in the next chapter too. I want to try my hardest to make this a weekly update but we will see. So far it seems to be working.._**

**_Stay tuned.._**

**_A~Teal_**


	4. Haven't We Met Here Already?

**_Plight of Persephone_**

_Ok people, you know the score, I do not own Hercules, Disney does and even though they have not issued plans for a live action redo, give it time. Everything else seems to be getting the treatment so I wouldn't be shocked if it happened. And since Disney aren't entertaining the idea of a remake, I decided I would. Don't worry, you do not need to have read any of my other stories to read this one and the original is NOT going anywhere, it stays here where it belongs.. I do own this version of Persephone and all other original characters and places that come up, permission and advice is always given to those who want to use them but do tell me if you use my characters so I may view and comment on your work.. Just like the original I will be basing this story around Greek myths and twisting them around just like Disney did, I will also be reworking some of the original plot lines.. Please review and let me know your thoughts.. Thank you for your time. Enjoy! X_

* * *

**_Reviews:_**

**HippieDippie: I'm glad your enjoying it. And don't worry, Hades' reaction is coming up in this chapter and it will be good, I promise. I'm trying to keep the updates weeekly so hopefully the story will be updated every Tuesday x**

**NotSoAnon: I understand your complaint but I am only using it to describe her looks, 'young adult' would be an inaccurate term to use on Persephone because she is far older than her youthful body makes her appear, which is the first major change from the original as she was a young adult in that one. Others treat her like she is a child or a young adult because of the way she looks but she is not and you will learn how much this frustrates her over the story. In myth Persephone is actually one of the first gods born to the Olympians so she is actually far older than many other gods, in this story she is around the same age as Hermes and he looks in his forties. I will try to use other wording in future, though if it turns up again I apologise x**

**Angel of Hunky-Doryness: Thanks, I like this story much better than the original version already, the story will have better twists and hopefully not quite as predictable. Well, Pain and Panic might not have a huge role in your story but your story is more from Persephone's view and they mostly come come into a story from Hades' viewpoint. Personally, Hermes is my favourite to write, he's so campy, fun and snarky you can get away with writing almost anything for the guy and he often can be the voice of reason, even if not many listen to his advice. And don't worry, you will be happy with what happens in this chapter concerning Hades.. X**

* * *

**_Chapter Four: Haven't We Met Here Already?_**

For the passed week Demeter had done what she liked to do best during the Great Harvest, roll up her sleeves and help her loyal agricultural followers reap the bounty that she had nurtured for them. Unlike other gods she loved being amongst her worshippers and indulging in her passion, farming the bounty which she had helped create. It was in one of her own home island fields on Sicily where Hermes finally tracked her down after finally remembering the message his best friend had asked him to relay to her mother. The small swift-footed blue god found her tending to the root vegetables in her own private gardens. She had many of them surrounding her farmhouse home.

"Hermes, how nice to see you. If your here for Persephone I'm not sure where she is, the girl is not answering me which is odd.." The green skinned Goddess of Nature frowned in thoughtful silence before carelessly shrugging it off. "Oh well, she'll be back when she wants something." Her plump, curvy frame was wearing a short dark green chiton with a leaf-like pattern that came to her mid-shin, curling up at the edges. It was floaty, loose and had her usual modest, demure cut with her usual daisy clasps at her shoulders. It was only now that he was up and close to Demeter did he notice she was barefoot in the soil, her small feet and the hem of her chiton was dirty and her loose blonde curls were unruly. She was well suited to her position as Goddess of Nature, she was the only goddess Hermes knew that liked getting dirty and helping out the mortals.

"That's why I'm here, forgive me, it's my fault, I've had a total lapse in memory. She caught me at a bad time, I was super busy and it went right outta my head." The Messenger God implored and this made Demeter's cornflower blue eyes blink in bemusement so he pressed on. "Persephone wanted me to tell you that she has gone to the Underworld."

"_What?"_ The Goddess of Nature's expression turned into complete shock, her red painted lips parting for a moment before she frowned a little confused. "Now why in Gaia's sake would she do that, there's nothing for her down there. It's dark and dismal, it's no place for a nature diety at all." She paused then exhaled deeply, her round shoulders sagging adding, "Mind you, She is still in that 'dark phase'.."

"Oh no, the Fates sent for her. I had to check that one out for myself when Hades' little imps told me. But to their credit, they were actually telling the truth." He actually looked somewhat disappointed in the last part but he had indeed been to the Fates just before high-tailing it to Sicily the moment the three old crones confirmed the tale Pain and Panic had told him was legit.

"_The Fates?_" Demeter then flashed the tiny blue god a nasty scowl. "_Ugh! _What do they want with her now? Was not giving my poor girl that _hideous_ name enough for them?" She would never forget the dawn her daughter was born. The first day of Fall, the blue Harvest moon was high and the new day was about to begin anew. Then those three awful women had come to her prophecising her daughter would cause great devastation upon the world and giving her a 'fitting' name that, much to Demeter's annoyance, Zeus actually demanded that she keep and not incurr the Fates' wrath. He wasn't even her father, he just adopted Persephone as his own feeling she might need a father figure since her husband had died before his daughter's birth.

"Yeh, Hades never returned from wherever Hercules knocked him and they want her to free him. Persephone said that since the cycle of life was out of sync you'd understand why she had to go." Hermes replied with an earnest smile, hoping she wouldn't smite the messenger. This happened more often than Hermes would care to admit, his job was a risky one and it was hard to please everyone at once.

"Hades is missing?" This seemed to be the only thing that really registered with Demeter and Hermes rolled his violet eyes behind his rose tinted glasses. "Oh _dear.. _That's not good news for the balance of life at all. Have you told Zeus yet?"

"No." Hermes admitted and this made the Nature Goddess sigh with some relief.

"Good. Best not involve him just yet." She replied adding, "Only if we really have to."

"You don't think he would hurt her, do you?" Hermes added looking concerned, it wouldn't be the first time his over zealous advice bit him on the backside. Before the attempted takeover with the Titans three months ago he would never have doubted Hades' character but now he was unsure what to expect.

"I would like to hope not." Demeter replied but the look of slight concern in her cornflower blue eyes was a sure sign that she too had mixed feelings about the brother she thought she knew. "He certainly didn't the first time she was in the Underworld." The green skinned goddess added biting her red bottom lip anxiously.

"Wait... _First time?_" Hermes looked flabbergasted by this. He never knew Persephone had actually been in the Underworld before, he had never heard this story before.

"Yes, when she was a tiny little girl. Must have been about three or four at the time. She wandered off, as she was prone to do and went missing while here with me, it caused a huge panic on Olympus when nobody could find her. Then after a week of searching Hades appeared with my daughter asleep in one arm and told me he had found her wandering in his realm but had no clue how she had got there in the first place, apparently he had caught her growing flowers and trees down there." Demeter chuckled in some amusement at the memory of a put out Hades holding her tiny daughter in the crook of one arm and trying not to fly into a rage about the 'irreparable damage' to his realm. "He didn't look too happy about it but like I told him, I didn't even know it was possible to grow plants down there and whatever she grew would most likely die without any care or attention so no harm done."

"Oh. Kooky, I've never seen plants in the Underworld before, wish I'd seen his face musta been vase worthy." Hermes added with a mischievous smirk, anything that annoyed Hades in his own domain was definitely worth seeing. "So what do you want to do about Persephone? You want me to bring her back? Give her a summons?"

"Oh. No, no. Better placate the Fates or they will just make things worse." Demeter said shaking her head making her fall coloured crown of long leaves rustle. "I'll give her until Spring, then if she still hasn't returned we can involve Zeus."

"Alrighty babe-er ma'am.." The Messenger God faultered a little at the look of disapproval Demeter gave him at his conversational tick. "I will pass on that to Persephone right away." He replied cheerfully, actually having a gap in his schedule that was long enough for him to take a peek at her progress downstairs. His winged sandals fluttered excitedly at the very thought and he began floating upwards.

"Send her my love!" Demeter called back waving one hand as the other arm leant on her strong oak-handled harvest fork, the one she used for releasing her produce from the soil.

"Will do." Hermes responded jovially before vanishing in a blur of neon blue. Once he was gone Demeter's pleasant features twisted into a look of concern. Before the 'Titan Incident' the Goddess of Nature would never have believed for one moment that Hades would ever harm a blonde hair on her daughter's head but now, there was no telling what he was capable of. Even though she refused to believe he would harm Persephone after finding her, giving her some of his nectar before bringing her home safe and sound. Despite her current worry a small smile curved her lips, he had been her hero at the time.

"Perhaps I should get Hecate to watch over her, just in case.." The green skinned goddess mused out loud to herself then smiled. "She does owe me a favour, after all." Deciding this was what she would do Demeter let go of her harvest fork and brushed the dirt from her hands. She would need to clean up before seeking her old friend out, it would not do to show up looking this indecent.

* * *

_"What are you doing here little flower?" His voice was soft and gentle as he buried his irritation at the sight of the pale flowers with sole pink stripes on their petals bunched together on thick greyish green stems that filled the barren fields around him. There were dark twisted trees dotted everywhere and the occasional swirling white polar, like the one now sitting contentedly by the Pool of Mnemosyne, a natural spring fountain part way between the much larger Pool of Lethe and the boarder to the Elysian Fields at the other side._

_He would like to have raged and smote the cause for the appearance of this horticultural destruction of the Fields of Purgatory but when he found it his yellow eyes widened at the sight of the pint-sized immortal godling with bright white aura. Her lilac tanned skin had a pale glow, her blonde hair was mussed up with twigs and leaves, a large pink flower headdresss was askew her head and she wore a floaty white dress with two pink fruit shaped clasps holding it in place. She looked like a tiny little doll and it was kind of hard to be mad at that sweet little face._

_"Oh." Her tiny girlish voice squeaked as she took notice of his harsh appearance before a tiny smile curved her rosy pink lips. "Hello, uh, do you know where I am?" Confusion was in those bright olive green eyes._

_"This is the Underworld, the name's Hades, this is my domain." He held out his hand which dwarfed her in size._

_"Persef'ne, nice t'meetcha.." The tiny goddess replied taking one finger in her tiny hand unperturbed and still smiling sweetly at him._

_"How'd you__ get here Seph?" He had asked her and once again her sweet face broke into a look of confusion._

_"I dunno. I was in the meadows with my Mama Demeta. It was too hot an' boring an' I saw'd this shadow place, it looked nice an cool so I went there. It was nice an' shady, I like the shade, but I fink I falled down a big hole or somefin'.. It ripped my dress, see!" She lifted the edge up of her dress innocently flashing her pink underwear while showing him the large gash in the side of her chiton. Hades immediately pushed her tiny hands back down to cover her back up and she giggled slightly letting go of her dress._

_"I see and did you grow these plants?" He asked in a somewhat sterner voice and the effect was immediate, her smile vanished and she looked suddenly very shy and guiltily swivelled around on the spot with her hands behind her back, bottom lip jutted out._

_"Sorry. I didn't mean to. It just happened when I walked, honest!" Little Persephone implored with huge green eyes grabbing the ends of his black chiton. Her expression then changed into suddenly worried look and one hand let go of him to touch her tiny pointed chin. "But I don't think your see-frough mortals like them. They get kinda funny when they smell them, like they dunno where they are."_

_"Really?" He had mused on this new information... The whole scene seemed to grown unclear as the sound of water rushed around him, he could feel it, as if his head was being held under a body of water..._

* * *

...Water filled his mouth, his nose his ears and the sound of a girly voice was audible above him but distanced due to the rushing water around his head.

_"You better be right about this." _He could feel two small hands on the base of his neck, whoever this was they were strong but not strong enough to hold him down against his will.

"**_# _**_**#*#! ENOUGH ALREADY!**_"

The slight pressure from the tiny hands left quickly when this loud roar escaped Hades' mouth as he wrenched his head out from under the water where it was being held under. His bald domed head immediately flaring into yellow and red flames of fury as he breathed heavily, quickly noting that he was knelt down in front of the Pool of Mnemosyne, somewhere he had not been in centuries. When he finally turned to see who had the audacity to shove him head first into the Pool of Memory his flames went out again in complete shock to find a small youthful looking goddess, splayed out in her surprise on the hard stone-like ground a little away from him. He recognised her instantly despite her being much, much older than the previous time he had seen her. She had certainly done some growing up since then, although not as much as he was expecting, she barely looked sixteen and he knew that she was a similar age to Hermes. She was wearing a fitted dark purple chiton that highlighted her curves while being modest enough to remain classy, her hair was much longer now and he was pleased to see she had ditched that stupid pink flower crown.

"Persephone?" His voice was hushed as blue flames sparked into life on his head, he could only stare at her, unable to truly fathom just what she was doing back here or how he had even got here in the first place. The last thing he remembered was being swept up in the current of the Phlegethon.

"You know who I am?" The white skinned beauty furrowed her brow in confusion at him, she sat up on her knees looking both unsure and amazed at the same time. Nobody knew who she was when she first met them, she always had to explain who she was.

"Yeh, heh, how could I not. Your responsible for this!" The Lord of the Dead replied guesturing around the Fields of Purgatory. Persephone blinked in complete bemusement now looking around at the flowers and trees again. They looked like flowers she would grow and these were definitely trees that she could've grown but she had never been here before, not too her knowledge anyway.

"I am?" She asked in a quite yet stunned voice. "But I can't have grown them, if I had, they would be dead by now without anyone to care for them." Her green eyes frowned in confusion as to why these plants were still alive. Without a nature deity watching them, they should have withered up and died long ago.

"I assure you Seph, ya did. You want some proof?" Hade asked before snapping his fingers causing her whole body to propel forwards towards the Pool of Mnemosyne and her top half instantly was plunged into the waters. The Lord of the Dead smirked in amusement, casually checking his finger nails waiting before turning back when Persephone finally wrenched herself out of the waters spluttering, coughing up water as she pushed her wet bangs out of her face with a frown.

"That was a dirty trick." She mumbled unimpressed as she hoisted herself up.

"What goes around comes around." Hades responded casually before adding in a dangerous tone with a dark look, "Don't _ever_ try that again." Persephone's pout slowly turned into a smirk, folding her arms across her chest and standing as tall as she could.

"_Fine. _Next time I'll just leave you face down in the Pool of Lethe and let someone else free you after three months." She looked proud of this comeback until Hades flared dangerously with shock then swiftly leaned into her with an irritated frown. It made her tough front melt immediately into nerves.

"_What.. was... THAT.. again!_" He snarled in a low voice, his blue flames growing and curling around his shoulders as he glared hard at her. Persephone grinned back anxiously, her arms unfolding and her fingers curling, remaining in front of her heaving chest.

"_Uh_, hehe, I'll just leave you face down in the Pool of Lethe?" The youthful looking goddess gave a nervous giggle as she shied back from the ticked off Lord of the Dead.

"No.. How long was I in there for, _again?_" Hades added still looking ticked off and Persephone winced a little before reluctantly answering him.

"Three months.." She whispered softly and he straightened turning orange skinned in fury, his flames billowing out nastily as he breathed heavily turning around, his pupils contracting as he spotted a bunch of ashodels tremouring fearfully a little way away.

"_Pain! Panic!_" He bellowed out at the top of his lungs and sure enough, the two imps appeared out of the flowers as they'd dived behind them the moment Hades had pulled himself out of the Pool of Mnemosyne roaring and flaring his head off in fury.

"_Uh_, p-present a-and a-accounted for y-your most infuriated one.." Panic stammered with the widest simpering grin as he shivered with fear, dreading what his boss would do when he found out they were still behind with their work.

"Three months... You left me in _there_ for _THREE MONTHS!" _Hades' skin was engulfed in flames before flames erupted around him, firing out in all directions. The imps were immediately incinerated into two piles of ash, Persephone raised her arms in a feeble defencive stance but her bright white aura protected her from the heat and fire damage he could do. The moment the flames died down and Hades was stood breathing in heavily after his explosive outburst she noticed that her flowers and trees remained untouched, unaffected by his ragging inferno. This was confusing to her as they should have been scorched into ash. Were the rules different down here?

"W-we missed your bold leadership and inspiration." Pain replied in an agonised tone, returning to his regular form throwing a pathetic grin.

"We didn't know where you were. We had to consult the Fates and they told us that only _she_ could bring you back." Panic uttered following his brother's lead then the pair winced when Hades seized them both by the necks.

"It doesn't take three months to do _that_." Hades flared nastily again and they both turned into worms sobbing.

"We are worms, worthless worms!" They wined out together and this pathetic whimper made Hades Lance them with a disgusted look and throw them roughly to the ground.

"_Urh.. _Remind me to smite you _after_ I see how bad the bookkeeping has been in my absence." Both imps gave each other a nervous look at these words then watched him pass them in silence, not quite ready to return to their imp forms yet.

"I've been catching up on your paperwork for you." Persephone spoke up and immediately Hades stopped turning back in surprise. "We're almost caught up with the backlog."

"Yeh, Persephone has been a real help this last week." Pain returned to his imp form first grinning keenly. "She got us out of our funk and has been helping out on Doom Service."

"Yeh!" Panic jumped in front of his chubbier brother as he transformed back grinning. "She's a quick study, only took her a couple of hours to get the hang of the whole process. She's good." He added but Hades threw him a doubtful look.

"I'll be the judge of that." Hades growled darkly before pulling back and swivelling around adding sternly, "Persephone, meeting in my office, _now!_" Without another word he vanished out in a puff of smoke. The moment he was gone Persephone exhaled freely, Hermes had been right. He was intense close up in person but part of her couldn't help admiring his dedication to his realm. She expected him to be depressed but he wasn't he was focused and, somewhat, in control.

"Good luck Miss Persephone." Panic's voice sounded making the goddess' olive green eyes turn to see the imps throwing her sympathetic looks.

"Yeh, we're rootin' for ya." Pain added brightly. "You wouldn't wanna be late, trust me." He added with concern and the youthful looking goddess nodded nervously before gulping then vanishing out in a swirl of orbs. "She's doomed." He said the moment Persephone was gone.

Yup. Shame, I liked having her around." Panic added before pulling on his brother' arm. "C'mon, we better get back to the docks."

* * *

In his office Hades found things surprisingly neat and orderly, especially since he knew he had not yet gotten around to filing away his last set of paperwork. While waiting for Persephone to materialise into his office the fiery god opened the filing cabinet and pulled out the last few forms to be filed away. He seated himself down and began to proof-read Persephone's looping feminine handwriting.

"Hi.." Came Persephone's unsure tone as she manifested out of white orbs into his office and the bluish-grey skinned god threw her a narrowed eyed look over the top edge of the current scroll he was reading.

"Sit. Your late." Hades uttered in a firm voice and the goddess did as she was told but threw him a small smile.

"I know, this is why." She said manifesting a white mug with a 'H' in bold black and she set the mug down on the work top of his desk so she could see the golden liquid inside. "I thought you could use some nectar since you haven't had any for over three months."

"Oh..." Hades felt awkwardness fall over him before his resolve hardened. "If this is some kind of bribe—"

"It's not. I wanted to do something nice for you." She replied earnestly and he could tell Persephone was telling the truth, he had always been gifted at reading other's true intentions and he could sense nothing underhanded about this. Still, it was strange.

"Nice?" He queried, kinking a brow at her with an unconvinced look. Nobody ever wanted to do anything just to be nice to him. He exhaled looking suddenly morose. "Nobody does anything nice for me."

"Then maybe it's time someone did." Persephone said softly and there was a moment of silence before both gods looked away with slight unease.

"Anyhoo.." Hades drawled wanting to move on from his moment of discomfort, just because she did one nice thing for him didn't mean they were on friendly terms. Nobody wanted to be his friend, he was the Lord of the Dead, nobody liked him. Purely because he actually was feeling a little drained and in need of a drink he picked up the mug of nectar she had offered him and took a large draught as he continued to read through her unsupervised work, putting down the New Arrival Form he had been scanning onto the pile then reading the next.

Opposite him Persephone watched him review her work feeling a little anxiety well up in her stomach, wishing she had made herself some chamomile nectar, that always calmed the butterflies. She was less confident about her work now, what if she had done something wrong, what if she had misplaced a soul? What would he do to her?

"Hmm, not bad." He added taking another drink and Persephone smiled at him.

"Thank you, I put a small squeeze of lemon juice in, it takes away from the sweetness—" She fell silent when he raised one hand to stop her speaking and pulled the last scroll away from his face and placed it on the small pile. He set his mug down too before speaking.

"I was referring to your work. Not that I don't like the nectar, that was appreciated but not why I asked you here." Hades stated then regarded her with a curious look. "So, you've done office work before?"

"Yeh, I've interned with Hermes during the summer seasons. I can file, scribe and keep to a tight schedule." Persephone replied keenly. "I have no purpose of my own so I like being helpful where I can." She twisted her fingers together still feeling a little unnerved as he studied her.

"You don't have a purpose?" He raised both brows intrigued, he just presumed she would have one by now. She was certainly old enough and clearly responsible enough to hold one down. How was it she had been overlooked?

"No. Let's just say there isn't a market for a goddess that can grow things but I do know a lot about the balance of life and death, that's why I agreed to come and free you, I understand how important your job is." The white skinned goddess replied a genuine smile curved her cherry lips and a glint of excitement twinkled in her eyes. This was clearly a subject she cared about. "I would like to continue helping you if you'll let me, I know you are still behind. I don't think your imps did much work while you were out of action."

"I can tell by the numbers they didn't." Hades said grimly making a mental note to make their punishment more excruciating because of that. "Look, I appreciate the offer but I don't think your mother would be too thrilled if I let you stay. Especially since I put her in chains during my attempted coop. I've seen her mad and it ain't pretty."

"She doesn't hold a grudge." Persephone replied immediately, it was true as she had asked her mother. "She does think it was a stupid thing to do but she isn't mad at you like the rest of the council. They're the ones that called for your banishment from Olympus, Zeus only agreed because they threatened to unseat him if he didn't. He wasn't going to punish you, he thought Hercules had done it for him." Sometimes it paid to have Hermes as a best friend, he knew the inside scoop on everything.

"_What?_" Hades blinked in shock, his flames billowing almost going out but brightening back to normal.

"I presumed that's what that scroll was about." Persephone guestured to the still furled up scroll sitting in his 'In' tray at the side of his desk nearest the wall. She had left it untouched believing that it was something he was to see with his own eyes and immediately the fiery blue skinned god picked up it up. He broke the Olympus seal and began reading, his round golden eyes widening in amazement as he read the words that corroborated her story. Hades inhaled sharply but felt himself deflate at the news: He truly was banished from the Home of the Gods. After his scheme with the Titans this probably shouldn't have surprised him as much as it did but the news still cut him deep.

He was on his own now..

"I know I probably shouldn't say this but your lucky you don't have to go back there." Persephone uttered softly and it was only now did he realise she had gotten up from her seat and moved around the desk, leaning her round rear against it as she touched his forearm. "It's so boring up there anyway, I hate having to go there. I don't see everyone's fascination with it." The touch of her hand was soft and soothing, now that he was close to her he could smell her perfume which was light, flowery with a hint of something fruity he couldn't put his finger on.

"You don't like Olympus either, huh?" He drawled with a slight smirk at her disgusted pout.

"No, they always treat me like I'm some little kid and because I don't have a purpose nobody cares what I have to say." She paused before qualifying her point. "Well, except Hermes and my brother Bacchus, that is."

"Hm. Yeh well, it always was a case of 'what have you done for me lately' up there. No-one much cared about my opinion either so your not alone on that front." The Lord of the Dead replied picking up his half drunk nectar and taking a swig.

"Who knew we had this much in common.." Persephone uttered in such fascination that it made Hades choke on the mouthful of nectar he had swallowed. The blonde goddess had been about to ask if he were alright when the office door flew open and Hermes burst in beaming widely at them.

"Hey H-Man, good to see you up and at'um again.." The blue god spoke jovially to the unamused Lord of the Dead who had quickly recovered from his coughing fit throwing him a deadpan look. "Ooh, your lookin' a little worse for wear buddy, might wanna get some ambrosia fast, know whatta mean." Without uttering a word Hades scowled at the Messenger God, that had not only burst into a private meeting but felt it was ok to insult him too, summoning a large fireball into his left hand.

"No, wait." Persephone uttered gripping that wrist and only because he felt he owed her some kind of curtesy for being kind to him did Hades snuff out the fireball in his fingers. She had been surprised he listened to her and spared her best friend, still she needed to know what he wanted, "Hermes, what are you doing here? You didn't screw up, did you?" She lanced him with an accusing scowl as both hands rested on her hips.

"Sheesh Seph, gimme a little credit, will ya babe. I actually came here with a message from your mom." Hermes replied airily, not bothering to admit that he had delivered the message a little later than she would have liked but it got there, that was the main thing.

"Oh great. Let me guess, she's ordering me home? That is so like her.." Persephone sniffed rolling her eyes in annoyance, her mother was always trying to ruin her fun by making her come home before she was ready to.

"Err... No, not even close girl. She says she wants you back at the start of spring, think she's hoping this will quell that 'dark phase' she thinks your going through." He said as he turned his cadalus on its side and held the conjoined snake heads.

"_Urh.. _It's _not_ a phase!" The blonde goddess retorted sharply now looking irritated, the ends of her blonde hair curled up into fire. This caught Hades' attention instantly and Hermes back off immediately with a sheepish grin.

"Whoa.. Simmer down sister, don't smite the messenger.." The small blue god grinned nervously and the goddess exhaled calming herself and allowing her hair to return to normal.

"Your right, sorry." She apologised with a smile to her best friend.

"Hey, we're cool babe besides, you should know, I think your mom is gonna send someone to watch over you, just a heads up 'kay." Hermes added before pulling of his rose tinted glasses to clean a spot off them. He winked at Persephone freely then added as he returned his glasses to his face, "You didn't hear it from me. Gotta jet, I gotta meeting with Apollo about some cows, ciao guys." He added before disappearing into a blur of neon blue.

"That's so typical of her. Sending someone to spy on me." Persephone huffed folding her arms and pouting, trying to think what her mother could send to spy on her now. It wasn't going to be a nymph this time, that's for sure.

"Probably got more t'do with me if you think about it, I'm hardly Mr Trustworthy now, am I?" Hades stated as he pulled a cigar out of nowhere and lit it with a small flame on his thumb that appeared after he flicked it over his palm. "Gotta be someone local, she got any friends down here?" He added casually then inhaled deeply before exhaling sending smoke everywhere. His words made Persephone's green eyes widen in worry as only one name came to mind, it was someone that she didn't want interfering in her life either.

"Yeh, actually, she has one friend down here.."

* * *

**_Little Notes: Hey guys, hope this chapter lived up to expectations! Hades is back and so are the flames.. Although, don't be too upset about Demeter's lack of reaction to the news that Persephone has gone underground, I want to try and keep her within the lines that Disney had her in the animated series and it took a lot to annoy her in the King For A Day episode, which I totally recommend if you want an idea of what Demeter is like. I love Florence Anderson's performance.. _**

**_Ok, I dunno who has been updating the TV Tropes page that WikiSorcer put up of my stories but someone added a bit on my reboot calling it 'gritty' ..Not a term I would have used but I love it and I guess it is somewhat accurate to the themes emerging but I wanted to show my appreciation and thank them, just dunno who to thank!_**

**_Anyway, until next time.._**

**_Stay tuned.._**

**_A~Teal _**


	5. Careful What You 'Witch' For

**_Plight of Persephone_**

_Ok people, you know the score, I do not own Hercules, Disney does and even though they have not issued plans for a live action redo, give it time. Everything else seems to be getting the treatment so I wouldn't be shocked if it happened. And since Disney aren't entertaining the idea of a remake, I decided I would. Don't worry, you do not need to have read any of my other stories to read this one and the original is NOT going anywhere, it stays here where it belongs.. I do own this version of Persephone and all other original characters and places that come up, permission and advice is always given to those who want to use them but do tell me if you use my characters so I may view and comment on your work.. Just like the original I will be basing this story around Greek myths and twisting them around just like Disney did, I will also be reworking some of the original plot lines.. Please review and let me know your thoughts.. Thank you for your time. Enjoy! X_

* * *

**_Reviews:_**

**_Sharkeygirl: I'm glad your enjoying it, the updates should be on Tuesdays (times of day may vary as I update as soon as I edit) X_**

* * *

_**Chapter Five: Careful What You 'Witch' For**_

"I'm sorry? Your daughter is in _the Underworld... with HADES!_" Hecate's silvery-green eyes widened in shock at what one of her oldest friends in the whole cosmos was telling her. "Why are you completely fine with this?" The witch exploded and her wolf minions Canis and Lupus who had been skulking around in the darkened corner of her grotto scampered away nervously.

"Well, he didn't hurt her last time Hecate—" Demeter began but found herself cut off by the violet skinned goddess with flowing long blue hair held back by a silver horned headdress. The immortal witch's sharp features where twisted into an ugly scowl as she paced back and forth trying to work off some of her frustration at her mild mannered best friend who was so gentle and unstinting that she couldn't see the problem with leaving her very young looking, very pretty and very virginal daughter in the clutches of the most depraved mind in all of Greece. It was utter lunacy!

"_That doesn't mean he won't now!_" Hecate screeched out loud hoping to knock some sense into the over trusting goddess who blinked at her friend then frowned in some concern.

"Hecate, you shouldn't get so stressed out over this, it's not good for you. Come, have some camomile nectar so we can talk rationally about this." Demeter spoke as she manifested a jug of the golden drink along with two cups.

"_No! _I don't want a drink, I want you to understand how serious this is." Hecate responded with a sharp hiss of frustration at her friend for turning a blind eye to what she saw as a horrendous situation. "Your naïve daughter is in the clutches of the one god in the whole cosmos who makes it his hobby to corrupt innocence and youth! Do you honestly expect me to believe that you are _completely_ fine with her being there?"

"Well... No, not completely fine Hecate.." Demeter exhaled finally looking a little worried and taking a sip of her camomile nectar. "Before this whole mess with the Titans I never would have dreamed that he could hurt one of his own but now..." Her bottom red lip quivered a little as her cornflower blue eyes gazed unsurely at the contents of her cup.

"What mess with the Titans?" Hecate blinked confused.

"Oh. That's right, you've been in Egypt with family so you don't know. Hades tried to takeover Olympus, he broke out the Titans and lend them in a rampage." Demeter paused from taking a sip and lowered her cup from her red painted lips. The Goddess of Witchcraft's silvery green eyes widened as the story had unfolded, though she was secretly glad that she had not been around at the time or he may have tried to use her in his scheme. The immortal witch had been in Egypt visiting her mother and seeing old friends that she had grown up with. Although she had been born in Greece and lived there until her father was imprisoned with the rest of the Titans, her mother had spirited her away to the southern realms of Osiris after refusing the unwanted advances of a youthful Zeus...

"You don't say.." Hecate murmured, her brows quirking as she took in this new information. This was an intriguing development. The two wolves had poked their noses around the corner, also interested in this breaking news.

"You see why I'm so torn over this." Demeter replied in a sad voice as she rapped her fingernails against the cup in her hands. "He saved me from the wrath of Perses during the Titan War and he was kind to Persephone the first time she was lost in the Underworld.. It's just so hard to picture what drove him to stoop so low.." A heavy sigh escaped escaped the green skinned goddess, her cornflower blue eyes downcast, missing the small uncomfortable twitch that came to the corner of Hecate's mouth at the mention of her unstable and anger-prone father.

"What is it you want me to do, exactly? Your daughter doesn't like me very much." The immortal witch was not wrong, despite being good friends with the Goddess of Nature Hecate never had quite the same repour with her daughter. She had been a tutor to the youthful goddess back when she had been an actual young adult instead of just looking the part and had schooled Persephone on many of the darker aspects of life that Demeter had been unwilling to show her but felt she should know about. In many ways the things that she had taught Persephone may have been the catalyst to this 'dark phase' Demeter thought her daughter was in but Hecate knew Persephone better, she was wilful and insolent. The two had got on when she was just a little girl but as she got older the two grew apart as Persephone grew wise to Hecate's many tricks and spells, not being as easily fooled as her mother.

"_Nonsense!_" The green skinned goddess waved a small chubby hand. "She is just a little introverted, that's all. Comes from her sheltered life, it will pass." Demeter chuckled in light amusement, missing the look Hecate gave her. Persephone was no shrinking wallflower, she was quite the opposite in fact. "I just want you to watch over her while she is down here with Hades, make sure he isn't doing anything untoward to her and if he is, let me know and I'll have Zeus intervene." The Goddess of Nature said seriously and there was an unusually stern glint in her eyes. It was no secret to the upper realms that the Lord of the Universe had personally adopted Persephone as a daughter in-lieu if her biological father being deceased.

"So, you just wish me to spy on them?" Hecate blinked, not missing the sneaky grins that twisted the furry muzzles of her two wolf companions who were peeking around curiously again.

"That shouldn't be too hard for you, right?" Demeter replied sweetly finishing her camomile nectar.

"Hmh, very well. I accept." Hecate spoke in a light friendly manner before finding herself enveloped in a tight embrace by the Goddess of Nature.

"Thank you, I will rest easier knowing that my daughter is not alone down here." Demeter sighed before letting go, wishing her oldest friend a fond farewell then vanished inside a large orange tulip to go and resume her Harvest duties. Hecate's expression suddenly twisted into a vindictive smirk of triumph.

"Did she just give you an opening?" Canis' voice spoke first as the two minions came into the room and sat either side of her smartly.

"I can't believe it but it is true brother, she did indeed give you an opening." Lupus replied casually before turning to Hecate. "And what is this about him using the Titans to aid him? That was a bold move."

"Say isn't one of them your old timer?" Canis added, "If that's not adding insult to injury here, i dunno what is."

"Explains why Hades has been keeping a low profile but not why he is still _ruling_ the Underworld." Hecate drawled looking somewhat annoyed by this very fact. She had campaigned hard for the job but Zeus always laughed her off, siding with his estranged brother, not taking her seriously but Hades could unleash the most vicious brutes in the cosmos and _still_ keep the position.

"Speaking of insults to injuries.." Lupus uttered into his brother's ear making Canis nod.

"It's just not fair.." He added soothing the soft violet skinned immortal witch's ego as her silvery aura brightened in irritation at the thought.

"It's not. But I'll fix that by showing Zeus once and for all why_ I should be ruling the Underworld!_" Maniacal laughter escaped the immortal witch as extended her arms out, a look of triumph on her sharp pointed face. A terrible idea forming in her mind.

* * *

"Oy. The _witch_." The amount of venom that Hades used suggested that he felt as little for her mother's friend as Persephone did. "Of course, shoulda guessed." The blue-flamed god added with a snarky edge as he stubbed out his cigar. Why would he have thought that Demeter should have wised up to her tricks by now? He had always thought that she was far too trusting.

"You like her as much as I do then?" Persephone's light brows kinked neatly dragging his attention back towards the small blonde goddess who was still stood beside him. The revulsion marring her pretty face instantly told him that Demeter's daughter had the sense not to inherit this undesirable trait.

"Hey, when you own real estate you always gotta watch your back.." The fiery Lord of the Dead said before clocking the look of some confusion on Persephone's lovely face and throwing her a deadpan expression. "Forget it babe, you obviously don't own jack worth taking or you'd understand." The enormous god then hauled himself out of his immense sized black swivel seat. "Well, enough chat. I have minions to manage and lacking productivity to amend, ciao." He then vanished out into a billow of smoke leaving the young goddess alone in his office, hacking a little at the sudden gush of black smoke.

"_Hoi! _What about my offer to help?" Persephone growled in slight irritation at being dismissed, yet again. He obviously didn't take her seriously. Why should she think he would, her own mother didn't take her seriously, nobody did. Sighing unhappily she cleaned up his desk, filed the abandonned scrolls away and cleaned up the cup and ashtray. She then made her way back down to the docks looking somewhat irritated at just being blown off. When she reached the docks the two imps were scurrying around in a blind panic, hastily trying to do their jobs under the imperious gaze of a yellow flamed Hades. The god was no doubt angry with them and Persephone gently inched her way carefully down towards him not wanting to incite him further.

"Your late, _again._" Hades' voice spoke sternly towards Persephone as she grew close to him, he had sensed her coming. When he finally turned to her the firm look in his eyes was somewhat ruined by the large smirk snaking his full blue lips. "Is tardiness a habit of yours or does it just come naturally?" His voice was not as firm, it sounded somewhat more amused as his deep eyes focused on her.

'_Oh_. So you want my help." Persephone added with a slight roll of her green eyes, "Thanks for letting me know."

"I'm always looking for new working stiffs, not gonna turn one down when they offer." It became apparent immediately that this was the wrong thing to say as Persephone glared in fury at his wording, the ends of her hair bursting into flames as her fists balled, shaking.

"_Stiff?_" The word burst out of Persephone's mouth with such ferocity that Pain and Panic, who had never witnessed Persephone's rage before actually had to stop and stare at her explosion. "I am _not_ some lackey! I might not have all my powers yet but I am _still_ a goddess!" She then huffed and spun around on her heel, stalking off to find somewhere quiet to vent. Her sudden departure made Hades inwardly curse then follow her, his body manifesting into smokey vapour as he swooped ahead of her then appeared in front of Persephone.

"Hey, about back there.." He spoke making the youthful looking goddess give a start before exhaling in frustration and pushing passed him continuing to the Pool of Lethe where she always retreated to think. "Hey, _hey! _Let's talk, ok? I only need a few seconds, I'ma fast talker alright." Hades added spinning her around so her glaring green eyes were on him. A pout twisted her cherry lips and she shifted her weight to one hip, folding her arms waiting for him to talk. "I'm sorry ok, don't say that a lot but mean it. Your right, that was a poor word choice, it just.. slipped out, forgive me." The fiery god threw her an earnest look and Persephone made an unsure noise, he was very persuasive but she didnt just want to give him what he wanted so quickly.

"I dunno.." She drawled unsurely, turning her head to the side so she didnt have to look at him.

"Tell ya what, take some time, mull it over then if ya still wanna help out get back to me." The Lord of the Dead replied softly before passing her. "I gotta get back to work. I got deadlines to meet if I'm gonna meet the quarterly targets." As he left she glanced back at him feeling a little bad for not forgiving him just yet. He seemed so sincere towards her but he was probably just being nice because she was the one that pulled him out of the Pool of Lethe. For a while Persephone just stood there before she eventually groaned out then spun around, going after the Lord of the Dead. She was a sucker for punishment, she knew it but she was not willing to return to the surface if she could be helpful down here. Why leave for a realm that didn't need her if the one she was in could use her?

* * *

Persephone's giggling sounded like music to his ears, usually his jokes earned him a look of disgust, the silent treatment or even a disapproving remark. This was most likely due to the fact that his jokes were self serving and usually at another's expense but the youthful looking goddess seemed to get his dark humour. The way her smile lit up her face was evident to him that she shared some sense of his cruel wit and her green eyes sparkled with mischevios delight. She had certainly managed to surprise him with her determination and hard work ethic, she was not shy of getting her hands dirty. What had been most surprising of all to Hades had been the care and attention the blonde goddess had shown to the dead, she hadn't been kidding when she said she understood how important hhis job was. Persephone was able to soothe souls with her mere presence. She listened to their worries and was easily able to convince them to go on to Doom Service. He wasn't able to completely fathom how she was able to achieve this without schmoozing them into it but he wasn't complaining, anything that made his job easier and she was a natural at this.

That serpentine leer was back as he followed her up the long stairway to his throne room. He had actually enjoyed working with her. It was hard to believe that he could actually like working with dead stiffs but Persephone made it enjoyable. He liked teasing her, flirting with her naivety was fun, he had always enjoyed corrupting innocence but she occasionally shocked him by flirting back, acting surprisingly sultry. That had been unexpected. Nobody flirted with him, not even for a joke. When she did this he always fell into an awkward silence, unsure how to react to it as despite his outward confidence he could be surprisingly unsure when it came to females, he had little experience with them romantically.

"_Aye chi baba.._" Hades exclaimed once the two immortals arrived in the throne room, he took one look at the mess that greeted him and his blue flamed hair went out. "Oy, this is embarrassing." He uttered facepalming as he had forgotten about Hercules trashing his throne room after he scorched it in fury. His blue flamed hair returned as he moved towards the rubble, looking up at the huge hole and inspecting the damage making Persephone shrug unconcerned, used to the destruction after spending a week with it.

"It was like this when I arrived, your imps didn't have the power to fix it and I don't have the know how to do it." The blonde goddess shrugged guiltily. She did not know the full extent of her abilities but it had to have more to it than just growing plants.

"It's fine. I got it.." Hades replied unconcerned then bent his neck from side to side and moving his shoulders, loosening up his muscles before raising both arms and summoning the huge broken boulders of rocky roof from the floor. Persephone, who had moved over to his throne and perched on the edge, watched in awe at his pure strength of raw power as he guided the huge hulks of rock back in position on the ceiling. A torrent of white-hot fire escaped his now red hand and the cracks in the ceilings were repaired and the scorch marks along the walls dissipated. When the ceiling was repaired the blue-flamed god felt a rush of weakness fall over him, the flames on his head receded somewhat as he wobbled a little. This was enough to make Persephone launch herself out of the throne and grip him to stop him collapsing to his knees.

"Are you ok?" The blonde goddess sounded worried, her big green eyes looking at him in concern.

"Huh, feeling a little _schwa_.. It's the darnedest thing." Hades uttered faintly not fully comprehending why he was suddenly feeling so weak all of a sudden.

"That took a lot out of you and you haven't eaten in three months. You obviously need some ambrosia, just sit here and I'll bring you some." Persephone said guiding Hades to his throne then dashing off down the darkened hallway. As the Lord of the Dead watched her leave, hardly missing the slight jiggle in her pert rear. Why she cared so much about his wellbeing when nobody else did confused him, she was uncommonly kind to him and he couldn't figure out why...

* * *

"Feeling better now?" The blonde goddess asked curiously as her eyes studied the ornate carvings that Hades had carved out through this room. Her lithe white fingers stroked the curvatures of the open mouthed monstrous face she was studying at this moment. Her green eyes flickered back briefly towards Hades who had finished the bowl of ambrosia and second cup of nectar and was now resting, slouched back n his throne casually smoking a cigar.

"Yeh, thanks for that Seph your a real doll." He exhaled sending smoke everywhere, the weakness he had felt earlier was slowly ebbing away. "How'd you know that was the issue."

"You mean besides it being obvious?" Persephone kinked her brows in slight amusement. "Hermes is bad for forgetting to eat too, hmh, I'm always having to remind him." She returned to admiring the carvings. "These are really beautiful by the way." She added gesturing to the carvings that had taken him decades to complete in his youth.

"Heh, you have a warped view of beauty if thats how you see it kid." He smirked a little.

"I'm _not_ a kid!" Persephone snapped out in a brief spell of anger that made her blonde hair billow into a breif cloud of flames before turning normal as she counted to five out loud rubbing her temples to calm herself.

"Ok, _okay.._" Hades drawled. "Don't refer to you as a minor, noted. You got some temper on you, y'know that." His brows quirked in some amusement at her, she did fly off the handle pretty easily.

"Yeh, mom thinks I get that from you. Thanks for that." Persephone responded drily with a small smirk of her own as she placed her hands on her hips.

"_What?_" Hades blinked confused as he sucked on his cigar, trying to wrack his brains on how this could be possible but he was certain that it wasn't. "_Hey! _I'm _not_ you're father! If your mom claims that's the case I can _assure_ you that I never—" Hades was interrupted from his rant by her giggling, his blue flames curling around his shoulders in irritation at the very idea of him sleeping with the green goddess. Posideon was the one who had a soft spot for her, not him. She was far too cheery and into the whole flower power shtick for him.

"No, no, _no!_" Persephone continued to chortle animatedly before managing to stifle herself and continue. "Mom is the only one who knows who he is and she's not sharing it with me. She thinks I still believe I was an immaculate conception." The blonde goddess rolled her bright green eyes with a smirk. She should thank Hecate for setting her straight about that, if she hadn't she would probably still believe what her mother said like some mindless little twit.

"Well, who knows.. Crazier things have happened." Hades muttered rolling his large golden eyes expressively still looking somewhat irritated upon realising that he was actually her uncle by blood and that was what she had meant by inheriting some of his traits. He tapped the ash ooff the edge of his cigar into the ashtray beside him and resumed toking on it.

Silence spiralled between the pair for a moment after Persephone hummed in agreement to his statement. She picked her fingernails unsurely as he continued to smoke casually.

"Can I just ask?" Persephone felt her curiosity about the events of the 'Titan Incident' close to bursting point. "Wh-what made you want to..?"

"To attempt a coop? Go against Zeus in the first place?" Hades quirked his brows, exhaling his lung full of smoke in her direction making the goddess wrinkle her button nose in response. "_Urh.._ Let's just say I was fed up of always being looked down on all the time." He scowled to himself as he leant his head in one large bony fist. His last, best shot of getting Olympus was gone, like every other scheme it had blown up in his face along with his dreams of finally getting out of this dark sesspit of despair.

"Oh. I can relate." Persephone sighed heavily. "Nobody takes me seriously since I've got no purpose and since there are no job openings I'm perpetually stuck in the superfluous category." Her arms folded across her ample bosom as she leaned casually against his throne as she flashed him a non judgemental smile of pity.

"You weren't on Olympus when the Titans arrived, were you?" Hades suddenly turned his head to Persephone unable to recall seeing her beautiful face amoun the gods chained up in manacles. The had all passed him and he would have remembered her lovely face.

"No, I was detained on my mom's private isle of Sicily. I _uh_, released a bunch of poisonous plants this Spring and Zeus wasn't perticularly happy with the resulting deaths in mortals." Persephone flashed a sheepish grin and immediately Hades' attention was caught and he stubbed out his cigar.

"Seriously?" The blue flamed god raised both brows in amusement fascinated by the prospect of poison in plants and the white-skinned goddess pushed a loose curl of blonde hair behind her pixie like ear and continued.

"Yeh, he wanted me to tell him where the antidotes where hidden so I pointed out that his decree said I just had to provide an antidote, not that I had to disclose the location to him." The white skinned goddess finished her story making Hades grin widely, his blue flames turning white in triumph.

"_Hah! _You got moxie babe, I like that!" He exclaimed brightly, sitting up as his grin turned into a smirk. "Bet he didn't like you loopholing his decree.."

"No, he didn't, I was detained for six months. Well, for that and the night snare that was strangling Artemis' critters.." She added darkly, still looking annoyed about that before her gaze softened. "It's a good job your imps came for me when they did, that was the day Zeus decided my punishment was over." She added in a light friendly tone.

"Was probably the Fates' plan all along." Hades drawled in a monotonous voice unable to hide the animosity he felt towards the three crones right now. It seemed that he had been lead a merry dance by them, yet again. He really needed to stop listening to their advice..

"Hermes told me about them, apparently they are tricky dames to work out.." Persephone replied, remembering what the Messenger God had told her about them.

"Heh, tricky doesn't even begin to cover it Seph." Hades finally pulled himself up out of his seat after making his cup, bowl and ashtray vanish in a curl of smoke. "I feel sorry for the next poor schmo they got locked in their sights." He added darkly, unaware that the very one that the three Fates had in the centre of their Eye of Fate at that very moment was the young goddess standing right next to him...

* * *

... "_C'mon, you can file for me while I finish up the paperwork for today and tally up the soul count." Hades was saying and his words made a smile curl Persephone's cherry lips, she looked eager to please him._

_"Sure." _The Fates smiled a twisted smirk as they watched the scene through black seemingly empty eye sockets.

"Your sure it's a good idea to be doing this now, right after everything with the Titans." The blue skinned Fate, Clotho, said turning to her shortest sister with lilac skin and stubby fingers.

"Yes, this is the moment Persephone has been waiting for. It's time she found out who she is, what she is destined to be."

"You know Hecate will not make this easy for her." Lachesis warned her, her green wrinkly skinned brow furrowed in slight concern. What Atropos had planned for Persephone was something that Hecate had desired for centuries and the witch would not go down without a fight. This would only end in a showdown between the two goddesses.

"I'm _counting_ on it." Atropos drawled in a low voice, her smirk twisting as she Chuckled darkly to herself with both her sisters watching her with their arms folded..

* * *

**Little Notes: **

**Hey guys, first off.. Thank you to everyone who favourited this story and has it alerted. I'm so glad that there are still peeps that like my stories. I was a little concerned that it would fall flat with you being to intimidated by my pervious stories to want to read this one. Don't be, they are unrelated as you can clearly see by this point. In fact the plot of this story will be merging aspects from P.o.P with D.H.L, hence the involvement of Hecate in this story. My main beef with her in the series(despite her ugly appearance) is the fact that the whole cast was pronouncing her name wrong, though maybe this is partly why she was ticked off with them, who knows. It's pronounced Heh-Kaah-Tay, the 'Kah' is elongated and actually has it's origins in Egypt, hence why I made her mother flee there, this is the case too in the original narrative of my stories too but has never come up before.**

**And that bit where Hades bursts out with "I'm not your father" thats a line referencing the abandoned plot surrounding Persephone from the Hercules series where he and Demeter were going to have a custody battle over her.. glad it was scrapped to be honest..**

**So yeh, we have a little preview from the Fates of the endgame here too, much like the original film. They again have their own agenda throughout this story so I hope you will be satisfied by the outcome.. I will be back next Tues..**

**Stay Tuned..**

**A~Teal**


	6. I Had Plans For August

**_Plight of Persephone_**

_Ok people, you know the score, I do not own Hercules, Disney does and even though they have not issued plans for a live action redo, give it time. Everything else seems to be getting the treatment so I wouldn't be shocked if it happened. And since Disney aren't entertaining the idea of a remake, I decided I would. Don't worry, you do not need to have read any of my other stories to read this one and the original is NOT going anywhere, it stays here where it belongs.. I do own this version of Persephone and all other original characters and places that come up, permission and advice is always given to those who want to use them but do tell me if you use my characters so I may view and comment on your work.. Just like the original I will be basing this story around Greek myths and twisting them around just like Disney did, I will also be reworking some of the original plot lines.. Please review and let me know your thoughts.. Thank you for your time. Enjoy! X_

* * *

**_Reviews:_**

**_Sharkeygirl: The Fates exist purely to serve and entertain themselves, they won't make it easy but unlike Hecate they won't deliberately go out of their way to cause either Hades or Persephone harm. They always make it so there are multiple options and let freewill decide the outcome.. X_**

**_Angel of Hunky-Doryness: Haha, yeh, I honestly had a chuckle at that cause I kind of imagine Hades having a fiery hissy fit then being forced to choke on his rage at finding this really cute little 3 year old goddess with big innocent eyes being the offender. I want to return to it as the story goes on and do a couple more flashbacks.. To be honest I have written Hades a long time and I do actually base a lot of his outlook and views on James Woods himself and other stuff the actor has done. I'm a pretty big fan of his work in general.. I know he was involved in a few scandals with a couple of sixteen year olds but that doesn't bother me at all (think about how everyone would react now to Hades running off with Persephone) and he has a teenage girlfriend anyway so who better to look at for Hades.. Yeh, the teacher one was a better plan but in all honesty I'm glad she didn't appear in the series in general, it would ruin the movie.. X_**

**_WildJoke: (Chap1) I'm glad you are enjoying the story and hope you are keeping cool. The Hungarians at my work tell me it's been hitting 40 over there recently. Good time to stay in the shade and not try to overheat X_**

* * *

_**Chapter Six: I Had Plans For August**_

"_Uh_, forgive us for asking your improbably ruminative-ness.." Pain's voice cut through Hades' sombre brooding like a knife on burnt toast. Actually making the blue flamed god shudder, his flamed hair rippling as he struggled to repress his irritation now that his moment of quiet reflection was disturbed. His large round eyes snapping into focus onto the two imps who were stood beside him as he was mulling over the huge round map with it's abandoned figurines. Panic was actually hiding behind the large frame of his chubbier, more outspoken brother. As if that was really going to shield him from his master's wrath if he wanted to smite them.. And he might if this wasn't something important.

"What, _whaat? _Can't a god have a little down time in this place?" Hades uttered in irritation, his brow twisting into a frown as his train of thought vanished into nothing. That in itself was enough for the very tips of his flaming hair to turn yellow merging with the inner blue to create a slightly irked greenish colour. The last few days had been hectic as everyone had pitched in to try and finish the backlog of work that had built up in the god's three month absence and in that time Persephone had been a real lifeline to him. She had really surprised him. Not only was she nonjudgmental and kind, not just towards the souls but also towards Hades himself but she kept her optimism no matter how much work was put in front of her. It was almost like she was born to work with dead souls. What got the Lord of the Dead most was the fact that she liked working with the dead, it wasn't a false front like Hades had been putting on for centuries, she genuinely wanted to interact with them and his minions all seemed to love her too. He had always inspired fear to get what he wanted with them but she only had to ask nicely to get the same results.. It was so confusing to him.

"W-We were just wondering what evil scheme you might be concocting today?" The rose pink imp added with a slight nervous stutter after being nudged hard in the ribs by his more timid and slimmer teal skinned brother. Panic's long horn-like ears perked up curiously, poking his head around his partner and non-identical twin sibling. They were both looking timid but curious for the answer now.

The Lord of the Dead exhaled heavily, deflating at the question. He should have known they would ask this, now that they had more time, of course, they expected it to be filled with yet another scheme.

"No... I'm not concocting anything.." Hades responded in a somber tone, looking suddenly down. He knew his plotting days were done. His large bony fingers gripping the side of the chessboard map and leaning on it as those golden eyes roamed the figurines. He blinked in surprise as a sudden realisation hit him and his eyes scanned the figurines desperately trying to see if he had overlooked one.

"Your not?" Pain asked suddenly looking disappointed and finally Panic popped out from his despondent looking brother's back.

"But you always have a scheme! What about our weekly meetings of cosmic domination, isn't attendance mandatory?" The smaller teal imp exclaimed in surprise before diving back behind Pain with a yelp when Hades turned back with a slight scowl at this words.

"Well as of this moment those meetings are _DISBANDED!_" The fiery god flared up nastily as his voice rose with the last word before he immediately returned blue and resumed his gloomy outlook. "As of this moment boys the scheming is over. We're done. Kaput. Kapeesh?" He flashed them a firm look before casually turning away, intending to ignore their presence, summoning a brand new figurine into his hand and studying it with reverence as if it was a true work of art.

"But what about your plans for August?" This question made Hades' yellow eyes bulge comically as he choked slightly in shock at the unexpected words.

"My what?" His mouth went dry, his voice slightly quiet. _How in Tartarus did they know about that?_

"Y'know, your big plans for August.." Panic continued fluttering forward a little, this bold move ruined by his fast beating chest and somewhat simpering grin.

"We heard you say to Hercules you had plans for August.." Pain chipped in with a devious smirk, rubbing his little clawed hands at the prospect of some kind of meddling. "It's August now Boss and thanks to Miss Persephone helping out with the mid-morning rush we have the afternoon free."

"Yeh. So what is thy bidding, name it and it shall be done." Panic added keenly with a little bow as he too was longing for some kind of break from the grind that was his Underworld duties and schemes were all they knew about fun.

"Cute. But sadly, I was just banting boys, there is no plans.." Hades stated casually as he neatly set the new neutral figure down next to his own black figurine, admiring how the two looked together.

"There isn't?" Pain sounded crestfallen as did his teal partner and this made Hades grateful that they didn't have the intelligence to realise he was hiding the truth from them.

"So there is no scheme?" Panic added before giving his chubby, disappointed non-identical twin an unsure look, "What do we do now then?"

"I dunno.. Maybe we could check out the new issue of Helle. It should've come today." Pain suggested with a non-committal shrug, fully prepared to disown the idea if his brother hated it but Panic looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Ok, sure. Might as well if we have the afternoon off." Panic said with a smirk, "I'll check with Charon, you grab the stygnalian worms and we'll meet back here in five." They high-fived and had only gotten a few steps before their attention was drawn back to the Lord of the Dead.

"Eh, _hello?_ Where is Persephone now?" Hades asked with a curious look, if they had indeed finally caught up with the backlog where was she. He would have thought she had sought him out, especially since they were the only two Olympians down in this dark gloomy well of souls, it's not like there was anyone else down here on their level besides his adoptive parents but they would be slumbering now, recharging for their nocturnal duties later. Still, there was no sign of her blonde hair or bright aura and no scent of her seductive flowery perfume anywhere.

"Miss Persephone was in your office finishing off the paperwork and filing everything away." Pain responded as his brother nodded enthusiastically at these words.

"Yeh, then she said she was meeting some friends down by the Pool of Lethe.." Panic added unsure why her whereabouts were so important to his Lord and Master in the first place, he never cared what they did with their limited free time. Why was she different? Of course he, unlike his brother Pain, would never voice this thought knowing it would likely end up with him charred against the stone wall.

"Ok. Good.." Hades exhaled in some relief at the knowledge that she wasn't going to overhear any of this conversation, that would be an awkward conversation and she would probably get mad at him afterwards when she found out the truth about his original plans for August. The imps quickly separated with Pain heading down the hallway to the kitchen and Panic heading down to the docks, taking advantage of their boss' momentary satisfaction. Then Hades blinked in shock as the one thorn in their explanation stung him with confusion.

"Wait... _friends?_ What friends?" When he turned back they were already gone, making him sigh out with a deadpan expression. "_Urh_.. As usual, if ya want somethin' done, ya gotta do it yourself." He added grimly before his yellow round eyes returned to the figurine of Persephone he had just sat down next to his own, his eyes narrowing as he chuckled wickedly, smoke curled around him making him invisible.. She wouldn't see him coming.

* * *

The sound of voices talking could be heard around the Pool of Lethe and as Hades, still invisible, closed into the small group perched on a couple of sun loungers. It consisted of a small naiad, Hermes and Persephone all looking very chummy. The naiad had pale blue skin with long, deep watery blue hair and was dressed in a yellow knee length chiton of a modest cut.

"I'm sorry I'm the only one who came, Minthe refused." The naiad was saying to Persephone, the small nymph then gave a nervous glance around the place and shivered. "It's kinda creepy down here." She added edging a little closer to her best friends a little nervously.

"It's ok Cyane. Can't say I'm surprised." The blonde goddess replied with a slight roll of her bright green eyes. "And this place isn't so bad when you get used to it."

"You know our Spearmint babe, she's only happy when she gets her own way." Hermes drawled casually as he sprawled out across the sun lounger opposite the girls making himself at home. "Now about the Harvest Moon festival, you in?" He looked oddly serious for him and at his words the little naiad called Cyane let out a squeak of delight.

"Please say you'll come, don't leave me alone with Minthe, she's so bossy." The little blue naiad with murky green-brown eyes clasped her tiny hands together and pulled a pleading pout.

"Oh. Gee.. I'd love to guys but I dunno.." Persephone looked unsure.

"Hey, I can come getcha if you want, unless of course your askin' the H-Man to be your date?" Hermes wriggled his eyebrows suggestively with a mischevious grin and while his words were shocking to Hades the peachy blush that covered Persephone's cheeks as she flushed with embarrassment surprised him even more. Her abashed expression making Cyane giggle in amusement.

"What... _No!_" Persephone hissed in a low voice grabbing Hermes by the front of his chiton. "_Shh!_ He might hear you. Besides, he's not interested in me, he sees me as a little kid."

"That's what you think babe but I've caught him lookin' at you before." The blue skinned Messenger God continued to smile at her with that irritatingly smug look that hinted secret knowledge. The youthful white-skinned goddess actually let go of him in surprise and despite being invisible Hades looked somewhat worried and was trying to think what Hermes could possibly know about his personal feelings towards Persephone.

"Huh? What are you on about, he called me 'kid' to my face. He can't be interested in me." Persephone responded now looking confused and at her words the invisible Lord of the Dead instantly regretted calling her that, she obviously had taken it to heart and was self-conscious about her incredibly young appearance.

"Seph, I've caught him watching you on Olympus and honey, he was not lookin' at you as if you were a minor, trust me." Hermes pretended to fan himself as if to illustrate the heat of the god's attraction. Persephone giggled with a little discomfort at his words still not believing him.

"Shu-tup.. No he wasn't." She added with a playful punch to his arm clearly thinking this was a wind up, something Hermes was known to do. "I am not falling for that.."

"What, you want me to swear by the Styx babe, cause I will.." The Messenger God replied earnestly, looking at his best friend in some disbelief.

"Don't waste your breath. I still wouldn't believe you." The blonde goddess rolled her eyes.

"Fine.. Don't listen to me but he definitely has the hots for you babe. Why else do you think he's bein' nice?" Hermes responded with a sigh, sitting up and swinging his legs around the side.

"He probably doesn't want to anger my mom. She must be the only one on the council not mad at him about the 'Titan Incident'." The white skinned goddess replied easily finding this a reasonable explanation.

"One of two babe." Hermes replied lightly and Persephone kinked a brow at him. "I'm not mad at him either. Little irritated that he put me in chains but not mad about the whole takeover bit. That's nothin' new." He added unaffected by the attack on Olympus just bothered by the fact that he had been dragged into it and was not sitting on the side making sarcastic comments for once.

"Well, ain't that nice." Came a deep sarcastic voice making all three of them turn to see Hades appear in front of them out of a curl of smoke.

"Hades.." Persephone smiled brightly trying to ignore the slight squeak of terror that came from Cyane who was now hiding behind her best friend's shoulder and under her mass of thick blonde hair. "Did you want to join us?" She added sweetly to him.

"Actually I was hoping to have a word, _alone_, if you don't mind." The fiery god flashed her an oily grin, clasping his fingers together in front of his chest.

"_Um_, sure. Do you guys mind?" Persephone asked her friends curiously.

"Nah, it's fine babe. I gotta couple of errands to run this afternoon anyway. Let me know about the Harvest Moon, kay." Hermes drawled lazily as his winged sandals fluttered making him rise up from the sun lounger.

"Would you take me back to Lake Pergus please?" The small blue naiad asked him politely and the Messenger God grinned widely knowing she wanted to be back before Apollo's sun chariot raced across Sicily.

"Sure hon but you better hold on tight." Hermes replied as Cyane dashed to his side and wrapped her arms around his neck with a bright smile.

"I'll let you guys know about the Harvest Moon festival." Persephone waved her two best friends off with a farewell and a wave and the two vanished into a neon blue blur.

"_Sohhh_, what's the deal with Twinkle-Toes and the nymph, huh? They an item or what?" Hades' voice drew her attention back to him, an amused smirk twisting her cherry lips at what he was suggesting.

"No, they're just friends, between me and you Cyane actually has a thing for Mr Creepo in the sky." The white skinned goddess replied lightly and immediately Hades pulled a disgusted face.

"_Eurgh.. _Not Zeus! The nymph can do better.." He said in a tone of revulsion, thinking that Zeus would need no encouragement to peruse her if he found out about a crush. He might think he was good at hiding his affairs but he really wasn't. Even the mortals were starting to get wise to him now.

"I was talking about Apollo." Persephone threw the fiery Lord of the Dead a deadpan expression.

"Ohh.." Hades drawled in realisation before kinking a brow. "You heard those rumours too, huh?" There had been plenty of rumours floating around about Apollo and his not so gentlemanly behaviour and persistent wooing of females.

"Nope. Personal experience." The young looking goddess sighed wearily, "Let's just say he doesn't know when to back off." She had ticked off hint in her far away expression and missed the soft exhale of relief that escaped Hades. The god was glad that he didn't have to compete with the tanned hunk of a Sun God, although he was surprised she wasn't attracted to his good looks and tanned body.

"So what did you wanna talk about?" Her voice broke into his thoughts and his large pupils returned to her curious expression. "If it was about inviting my friends down without telling you, I'm sorry. I just missed hanging with them but I'll tell you next time."

"No. No, it wasn't about that." Hades responded but this was a white lie, he wouldn't admit that he wanted her all to himself out loud, that would make him come off as some pathetic, desperate loser. Not how he wanted her to see him. "I wanted to ask you if ya fancied dinner with me, a thank you for all your hard work. Maybe talk about how long you plan on staying here and what you need to make your stay comfortable, sound good?"

"Ok, sure, why not? I'd like us to be friends while I'm down here." Persephone replied after a moment's thought and the pale-blue skinned Lord of the Dead grinned widely, hiding his true thoughts behind a falsely cheery front.

_Oy.. Friendzoned.. Of course.._

"Great, I'll make the arrangements.." He added lightly as the two of them walked together. "So did my boys give you the tour already?" Hades then asked curiously and to his delight she shook her head.

"No, not yet. We've been busy but I am curious."

"Heh, then allow me to show ya round babe, I'll take ya to the local hot spots." He then gripped her and pulled her right up against him, grinning at the slight peachy glow to her cheeks. Persephone could feel her face grow hot as she found herself pressed against his firm body, able to smell the spicy musk of his aftershave as he held her in a gentle but secure grip. The two then vanished out into a billow of smoke and flames.

* * *

"What we need is a way to make Demeter think that her daughter is in danger and want to remove her from the clutches of Hades.." Hecate had been pacing back and forth trying to come up with a feesable way to discredit Hades further in the eyes of Zeus. It was obvious to her that Persephone was the key to doing this but she needed to exploit her oldest friend in order to do this. It was the only way this would work. Since the Goddess of Nature had come to her asking her to watch over her daughter this is what she had done. Well, her two wolves had done the actual snooping and reported back to her..

"Didn't Demeter say she was to return before Spring started?" One of the identical wolves spoke up curiously. "Maybe we could find a way to stop her returning."

"We could hold her hostage." His brother suggested but the immortal witch shook her head roughly.

"As much as I would like that we can't without alerting Hades. She might not know it but he has been sticking annoyingly close to her recently." Hecate frowned deeply as if trying to understand why he had been sticking so close to the youthful goddess. Even when Persephone thought she was alone he stalked her from the shadows, it was weird. Who did something like that? "It's almost as if he—" She blinked suddenly as if the truth had slapped her across the face. Persephone was definitely Hades' type. Young, naive and easily manipulated into his way of thinking. "Oh my days! He must like her... That would explain the strange possessive behaviour." She cackled to herself making her wolves look at each other in confusion then back at her waiting for her orders. Hecate composed herself and straightened in her wolf skin lined throne. "Keep an eye on the two just now, I need more information before I plan our next move.. I want to see how deep his feelings go."

* * *

**Hey guys, the title of this chapter comes from the throwaway line that Hades gives to Hercules in the film: "I'm kinda on schedule, I got plans for August, I need an answer.. now!" This line is surprisingly specific and telling even though I'm sure it was only thrown in since the Hercules film was release in July. Most real myth buffs also know that in the Rape of Persephone myth the goddess was actually snatch some time near the end of August for the time span of devastation to make sense.**

**I don't want to ruin too much as the information around Hades' plans will come back later, I will just let you guys sit and speculate on what they might be but unlike Persephone he has been aware of her existence for quite some time..**

**See ya next Tues..**

**Stay tuned..**

**A~T**


	7. Nothing Is As It Seems

**_Plight of Persephone_**

_Ok people, you know the score, I do not own Hercules, Disney does and even though they have not issued plans for a live action redo, give it time. Everything else seems to be getting the treatment so I wouldn't be shocked if it happened. And since Disney aren't entertaining the idea of a remake, I decided I would. Don't worry, you do not need to have read any of my other stories to read this one and the original is NOT going anywhere, it stays here where it belongs.. I do own this version of Persephone and all other original characters and places that come up, permission and advice is always given to those who want to use them but do tell me if you use my characters so I may view and comment on your work.. Just like the original I will be basing this story around Greek myths and twisting them around just like Disney did, I will also be reworking some of the original plot lines.. Please review and let me know your thoughts.. Thank you for your time. Enjoy! X_

* * *

**_Reviews:_**

**_WildJoke: Yeh, your right. They do have feelings towards each other but Persephone doesn't really understand hers while Hades doesn't believe he is the kind of god she is looking for X_**

**_Sharkeygirl: I'm glad your excited but the Plan for August was made before his Olympus takeover and was something he intended to do once he had succeeded in his coop, since that failed those plans have since been abandonned now that the object of the plan is now in the Underworld with him X_**

**_Angel of Hunky-Doryness: Haha.. Oh god we did, didn't we? Yeh, Hermes is kinda getting the best lines at the moment, he always was one of my favourites from the movie and show. Although they focused solely on him as a Messenger God I will be bringing in his trickster god rep into this too.. Yeh, I agree Woods was just ad-libbing _****_the 'August' line but according to myth Persephone was in the Underworld for around six months before she was returned to Demeter. A lot of myth buffs who saw the movie think it was a slip on Hades' part about a future plan to get a Queen, so I chose to use that as inspiration this time.. And I think Woods used a sleazy Hollywood agent stereotype as his basis for Hades because he didn't see himself getting the role as everyone else was so down and gloomy X_**

**_The Mustachioed Academic: Yeh, the themes in this run a little darker than the original which had a much lighter approach. But glad you are liking it and open to the change! X_**

* * *

**_Chapter Seven: Nothing Is As It Seems_**

While Hecate was waiting for the right kind of inspiration to strike Persephone found herself really enjoying the company of Hades, this was surprising to her. Everyone had warned her about the big bad Lord of the Dead who would lure you in with false promises then betray you and take everything for himself. Ok, so she was unsure if the other gods were being slightly over dramatic when they said this or not. From what she had heard he had pretty much tried to rip off every god on the surface of Greece many times before, wether he failed or not was another story. He _seemed_ to be very nice at the moment but she kept her guard up a little, waiting for the underlying bitterness to rear it's unseen head. She knew he didn't like the Underworld, it was obvious to her as he kept an arms length from the souls at all times and made little or no effort to get to know them on a personal level, they were just treated like a number and as soon as they were processed into their afterlife his interest in them was gone. What she didn't quite understand was why he was so dismissive of his transparent subjects, especially when they needed help coming to terms with their own deaths. She knew from her rooting around in his office that he was actually a fully qualified councillor, that was the god they needed but something had drained his empathy.. But what?

At this moment Hades seemed to be in yet another meditative mood as they were walking in silence together, coming down the long stairwell leading down from the House of Hades to the Pool of Lethe. He hadn't spoken since showing her the Vortex of Phlegethon, insisting she didn't want to get to close to the edge, apparently the experience was an unpleasant one. The blue flamed god would often fall into these contemplative silences, Persephone didn't mind so much she was used to the quiet and he obviously had a lot to process about what happened to him.

"So, is that where the Phlegethon finishes?" Persephone blurted her question out automatically, bringing the blue-flamed god out of his thoughts and making him look around to see where the youthful looking goddess was pointing, upwards towards the Fall of Lethe which started near the dark void above them. Her pretty green eyes were full of wonder and curiosity. He envied that she seemed to find delight in almost every corner of this place but then, this was all new to her. After a few centuries of the same dullness day in day out it would suck the life right out of her too, if she was unlucky enough to still be roaming around then.

"Yeh, that's it alright.. The Phlegethon is supposed to burn away the sins and the Lethe makes the souls forget their troubles.." Hades replied somewhat distracted, he had been feeling weird since his own trip down the Phlegethon a week ago, did those fiery waters work on gods too? He couldn't find the exact way to describe how he was feeling but he didn't feel like himself, that much he knew for sure. It was almost like he didn't even recognise himself anymore, when he thought back on his many schemes and his bitter rage he wondered what it had all been about.. He couldn't go back to that self destructive rage cycle, so what was he supposed to do now?

"Huh. To what end?" Persephone followed up her first question with another and this one made the Lord of the Dead instantly stop in his tracks. His abruptness was so sudden that the younger goddess almost crashed into him.

"I'm sorry, what?" The fiery god now looked completely thrown by this follow up question. All thoughts on what to do with his eternity disappearing into nothing.

"The purification and wiping of memories, it just seems like this place is preparing them for something. Where do they go after they come out the pool?" The white-skinned goddess asked curiously, finally descending the last of the steps and standing beside Hades. The difference in their heights once more highlighted now she wasn't a few steps behind him which had made her seem taller.

"Mostly, I just use 'em as pool cleaners." Hades drawled with a wave of his hand gesturing to the few confused looking souls that were standing around holding pool cleaning equipment. Persephone gave a snort of disdain at this information and rolled her green eyes.

"Really? Your just going to take advantage of them like that? They were clearly preparing for some kind of transition." She added, her firm tone clearly expressing her displeasure at this form of exploitation.

"It never occurred to me that they were bein' groomed for somethin' before. Sometimes it takes a fresh pair of eyes to see these things." The blue flamed god responded immediately making a mental note not to show her Tartarus if she was gonna start lobbying him for the rights of dead souls. Although now that she had voiced the theory of these souls getting ready for some kind of transition it seemed insanely obvious to him. How had he not thought of this before? "Bottom line: I don't know what they're being groomed for, hey, if you figure it out let me know and we'll take it from there. Deal?" If he thought she was going to shake the hand that he had offered her along with that slick grin then he was mistaken. Persephone threw him a subtle grimace then walked onwards ignoring the hand completely, this threw him off as his smile dropped into a slight lip curl of bemusement as he straightened to see her smiling sweetly at him once more. Apparently she was going to be a hard one to win over..

"So where do the good souls go? I get that you can't go in but you must at least know where they end up, right?" Persephone asked and this immediately made the Lord of the Dead deflate pouting, his shoulders sagging giving him the appearance of a sullen put upon teenager.

"Shoulda figured you'd ask that. Alright, follow me, it's this way." Hades exhaled looking far from pleased about showing the youthful goddess the happiest place under the surface but he relented, beckoning her to follow with a large and and long index finger. The two walked together down the path by the Styx and around the tributary bend into the Archeron, they continued on until they saw what appeared to be caverns of light on the other side of the dimly lit river with few souls drifting peacefully through.

"That's it?" Persephone asked somewhat dumbfounded by the realm she was seeing, it looked almost like the surface realm in summer time and of what she could see the souls looked content and happy inside without a care. It was such an odd sight compared to the dreary backdrop of the rest of the Underworld.

"Yup..Just a brimstone's throw away.." He illustrated this point by summoning a small fiery ball and tossing it over the Archeron which was marginally narrower than the wide expanse of the Styx, it rapped off some unseen barrier with a slight 'ding' then hissed out into the waters of the river. "-and I can't touch it."

"_Um_, if that is the realm for good souls and a peaceful afterlife does it not strike you as obvious that powers designed for destructive purposes cannot enter said realm?" Persephone kinked a brow with a wry smile and the slightly haughty tone she used made the flames on Hades' head turn orange in irritation as he rounded on her.

"My powers are nothing but _destructive!_" He hissed to her in some annoyance but she merely raised one hand and smiled sweetly.

"Mine aren't. Watch." She said jerking her head towards the realm and purely because he was curious he turned his head to see what she was referring to. His round yellow eyes widened in shock and surprise when a swirl of white orbs appeared inside the Elysian Fields, out of them appeared a shoot of green that very quickly grew, turned into some kind of bush, sprouting leaves then became heavy with a round pink looking skinned fruit. The new arrival inside the realm didnt go unnoticed by its resident corporal souls. Many came to inspect this new creation in there presence and some even recognised it as a pomegranate bush.

"See? Told you nonthreatening powers would work." Persephone replied and continued onwards along the path, missing the fact that the souls in the Elysian Feilds were now praising this 'sacred' bush which they believed was a gift from their ruler who they had been waiting to show themselves. The spectical wasn't missed by Hades who's hair had resumed it's more calm and collected blue. He watched the scene in the bright realm curiously. _They were waiting for their ruler? That didn't make any sense..._

"You coming, or what?" Persephone's voice called back and this made Hades blink, only partially coming out of his surprised state and following, his sharp mind still trying to make sense of what he had just seen..

_..unless she was the true ruler of the Elysian Fields. _But again, this just brought up more questions than answers..

* * *

"So..." The fiery god drawled loudly breaking the long spell of silence between them and Persephone looked around from her filing somewhat curiously. "-you gonna go to the Harvest Moon festival with your friends?" Hades was looking at her with mild interest. The white-skinned goddess with long blonde hair raised her neat brows at his question. They hadn't spoken since finishing their work on the docks. While he finished off the paperwork while sat behind the desk of his large office she filed the finished scrolls away, making easy work of his complicated filing system. This was what he decided was the conversation starter?

"Why are you so interested in that?" Persephone queried a small smile playing. "Are you wanting to come with me or something?"

"To a nymph rave under a full moon? _Hah! _That's unlikely.."Hades smirked somewhat amused then lowered his paperwork to the desk as he added his signature at the bottom, signing it off.

"Why? Afraid of having a good time?" The youthful goddess responded playfully, leaning over the edge of his desk pouting slightly and the fiery god immediately rolled up the scroll and pushed it into her face.

"It's autumn, I'm busy and if I'm gonna be down a member of staff I'd like to know in advance.." Hades replied in a business like tone as she accepted the scroll he had unceremoniously shoved to her then turned away to file it away with the others.

"I see. I'm not sure yet, am I even _allowed_ to go?" She asked unsurely and this made the Lord of the Dead cough slightly in shock at her words.

"Excuse me?" He asked frowning slightly in some offence and confusion at her words. "_Allowed?_ What am I, your jailer? Am I holin' ya against your will toots? I haven't made you sign anything so you tell me if your allowed to leave.." His flames bristled and curled around his shoulders with his badly repressed frustration. He hadn't kidnapped her or forced her into any kind of sordid deal that would keep her bound to him, why did she think she needed his permission to leave this place?

"_Oh. _No, _no.._" Her cheeks immediately blushed a pale peachy colour and she turned her head coyly away. "Heh, t-that's not what I meant.. I just wondered if it was going to be busy down here at the time? I don't have to go if it is."

"Seph, I've been doin' this job for centuries. I think I can manage without you for one day." Hades drawled unconcerned, the amount of souls was unpredictable, the only ones who would know for sure were the Fates and they would share that knowledge with him. Besides Hades and the imps had always managed to pull through by themselves and even without her they would manage.

"Well, ok but if you get a break in your work you should come join us." Persephone replied brightly, feeling somewhat excited by the prospect of going to the biggest event of the nymph and satyr calendar. She had not missed one yet and she was looking forward to this years as the Sirens were performing alongside the Tityroi, a flute band of satyrs.

"I will consider it but I make no promises, how's that for ya?" Hades drawled in response, his brow raised slightly at her apparent keenness for him to attend, was this really the same girl that had friendzoned him that very morning? His eyes returned to his last scroll of paperwork, with Persephone helping him he was getting through the workload faster. He might actually have time to reside over the Underworld court cases that were scheduled for this afternoon. Usually his paperwork meant that he only had time for the more severe cases that were in session during the dark hours of night..

"Alright then, do you mind if I duck out. I need to let Hermes know I'm going and hopefully he can get me some things I'll need." Persephone asked curiously, noting that he was holding the last thing that would need filing.

"Sure, why not? I'm just gonna go to Underworld Court after this and reside over sentencing of the dammed." He utttered with a slight eyeroll.

"_Ooh._ Will I get the chance to see that at some point?" The blonde goddess' green eyes lit up with intrigue at the possibility of seeing inside an active Underworld Court of Judgement. She knew that court down here was reserved for the most evil and despicable souls and that while the judge presiding would chose which one of the seven levels of Tartarus while the sentence was always carried out by Hades himself upon their arrival.

"Don't count on it." Hades responded as he signed the requisition form he had been looking over, deciding to allow it. "It takes a strong stomach and nerves of steel to listen to the testimony that comes through my courts, trust me. I don't know you well enough to allow you access to it and since you show sympathy to the mundane I'm even less inclined to. As far as I've seen, your too soft of heart to handle what comes through those double doors.."

"Too soft... _Right._" She sounded somewhat disappointed and turned away, leaving him in the office to file the last scroll away. The moment she shut the heavy stone office door the Lord of the Dead let out a heavy sigh. Perhaps he had been to harsh and direct in his refusal to allow her to see inside the Underworld Courts but what he said was the truth, he honestly didn't know if she could handle the horrendous testimony and wanted her to shield her from it. the last thing he needed was Demeter on his case for scarring her daughter.

* * *

"He called me 'soft of heart', can you believe that? _Me! _The goddess who got rid of that pompous jerk Adonis as a favour for Ares when he was sniffing around Aphrodite days before she was supposed to marry Hephaestus!" Persephone fumed, the ends of her blonde hair curling upwards and flicker violently as she paced back and forth in frustration. Hermes was sitting on the edge of the small Pool of Mnemosyne leaning back against Persephone's lone white poplar tree as the fuming goddess stomped back and forth through her ghostly Asphodels.

"In fairness Seph, Hades doesn't really know you now, does he?" Hermes drawled trying his hardest not to roll his eyes, not fully understanding why she was upset by being shut out of Underworld Court. From what he had heard Hades' Court was one of. The most intense and heart-stopping experiances in the entire cosmos, he had attended one once and refused to go back as it had shaken him to his very core. He didn't understand why she was so keen to witness it.

"Well, it's not like he is making a conscious effort to try Hermes!" Persephone exclaimed in frustration, waving one hand to emphasise her point. "I'm the one making conversation with him and getting him to tell me anything is like trying to get blood out of a stone!"

"So why keep trying babe?" Hermes replied sitting forward. "Why not just come home and leaving him to wallow in peace."

"_Because.._" The white goddess whined a little, sagging as she finally stopped in her pacing, swivelling to pace him. "He needs help."

"Heh, no arguments here babe, the H-Man could use a shrink." The blue skinned Messenger God chuckled a little, however he would never dare voice to the fiery god that he should seek professional help, that would get him skewered by his own caduceus and barbecued for sure.

"No.. There is something missing in this realm, something important. Certain souls are going through a transition but are never completing the cycle and then there are the souls in the Elysian Feilds that just seem to be waiting for something to happen and it never does. I need him to open up so I can figure out what's missing down here." Persephone exhaled, her blonde hair finally calming and falling back around her hips. "If I can help him find the answer maybe it will help him feel better about this place, let him see thatit's not so bad after all."

"_Hmm_, sounds like a long shot to me Seph but if you think it will work. I'm help anyway I can." Hermes replied with a friendly smile, if this really did help out the Lord of the Dead and made things better down here that could only be a good thing. "He's lucky you care so much." The tiny god added with. A slightly teasing smirk and this made Persephone flush a little.

"I.. just think he deserves a little happiness, that's all." She replied trying to ignore the heat in her cheeks.

"Uh-huh, _sure_, you keep telling yourself that babe." Hermes added, his mischevious smirk widening, it was obvious to him that she had developed a crush on Hades in the time she had been down here and teasing her about it was fun. He was sure Demeter would not approve but he himself didn't have an issue, if they were both consenting adults then let the loveboat sail. "So do you want me talk to Narcissus about helping you get ready for the festival. He's been buggin' me about you since I told him you were down here, he thinks your crazy for comin' here but he swore not to tell anyone."

"That's because it has nothing to do with him, you know he only likes to talk about himself." Persephone rolled her green eyes fondly as she thought of the God of Self-Obssesion. He might be a conceited but he was a great fashion designer and beauty guru. If anyone could send her style hints and the latest out of his beauty product lines before the Harvest Moon festival, he could. "But yeh, if you could ask him to help a sister out I would much appreciate it."

"Can do babe." Hermes grinned brightly. "I gotta run, the big man has a divine intervention scheduled for four and he wants me present for it, don't worry so much about the H-Man ok, he'll come round soon just keep trying." He vanished off in a blue neon blur and Persephone exhaled heavily.

"Yeh, sure.. I'm a sucker for punishment, aren't I?" She drawled folding her arms and pouting.

* * *

**Little Notes: Hey guys, this chapter is kinda short, I know, but its about setting things up for the next one which will focus on the Harvest Moon Festival. This will actually bring in the first obstacle that will try to get between Hades and Persephone. I kind of have Hades holding his cards close to his chest this time, rather than just be open with Persephone like in the original story. He has trust issues which makes more sense to me, especially after everything thats happened to him and of course that makes it difficult for Persephone to get to know the real him. **

**Also, I hope your excited for the appearance of Narcissus, I have this personality in mind for him that is similar to that of a beauty guru like Jeffery Star or James Charles. That seemed to fit the sort of persona I'm going with but of course, since he is so self-obsessed he's going to be taking that to comical levels. He's a character that has never appeared in any fan-fiction before, even mine, so I am excited to breath some life into this guy! I promise, he will be lots of fun and will have a humorous scene with Hades that, hopefully, will have you laughing.**

**Stay tuned and S.Y.N.T**

**A~T**


	8. Nocturnal Habits Of A Nature Goddess

**_Plight of Persephone_**

_Ok people, you know the score, I do not own Hercules, Disney does and even though they have not issued plans for a live action redo, give it time. Everything else seems to be getting the treatment so I wouldn't be shocked if it happened. And since Disney aren't entertaining the idea of a remake, I decided I would. Don't worry, you do not need to have read any of my other stories to read this one and the original is NOT going anywhere, it stays here where it belongs.. I do own this version of Persephone and all other original characters and places that come up, permission and advice is always given to those who want to use them but do tell me if you use my characters so I may view and comment on your work.. Just like the original I will be basing this story around Greek myths and twisting them around just like Disney did, I will also be reworking some of the original plot lines.. Please review and let me know your thoughts.. Thank you for your time. Enjoy! X_

* * *

**_Reviews:_**

**_Sharkeygirl: You'll see what he is like next chap, there's been a delay and I explain it in my notes below. Yeh, that's some mental image in his current state. I imagine his younger, more bright-eyed self was keen before the weight of everything crushed his spirit. X_**

**_Hippiedippie: Persephone has always had a wild side, it's just rare that I get a chance to explore it and I also wanted to explore her strained friendship with Minthe which I never got to do before along with revealling a few friends that were never seen in the first time round. X_**

**_insertsomethingepic: Yeh, I know my editing process is not the best. Honestly it's just because I am writing for two sites at the same time. I write here and on Wattpad. I have a tight writing schedule between my work shifts but it's fine. I've always believed that good storylines make up for bad grammar and awkward sentence structure. I'm not against Beta's I just don't like the idea of someone interfering with my work, I know I'm not the best structurally at writing but I only do this for a hobby. Also remember, that I'm from Scotland in the U.K, so words will be spelt and used differently from standard U.S grammar if that's what your used to.. I hope you will continue to enjoy the story anyway. X_**

**_herbalwolf: I'm happy you love it so much, I wanted to take a more grown up approach this time and hopefully fill in a few plot holes along the way X_**

* * *

**_Chapter Seven: Nocturnal Habits Of A Nature Goddess_**

Whatever Persephone had been expecting when Hades had invited her out for dinner it had not to be taken to anywhere fancy but here the two of them were, in a surprisingly ritzy restaurant out on the lower east side of the Underworld. It was located against the boarder of the Elysian Fields and the youthful looking goddess felt as if she were underdressed for such a place, after all she was just in her everyday one-strap, knee-length purple chiton with the neon pink pomegranate clasp. If she had known the place he was going to take her to had been this nice she would have dressed accordingly. Not that she had anything _nice_ enough for this kind of setting, all her best dresses were shapeless and the dreaded shade of white because her mother insisted that 'a Vestal virgin must look the part' and would not allow her to wear anything that showed even a hit at her figure when they went to Olympus. So once Hades had shown Persephone to her seat with the kind of gentlemanly decorum that she could not imagine coming from a god as despised as him she fidgeted uncomfortably.

A lot.

It was not missed by Hades who passed it off as nerves at first, he too was nervous. This wasn't a date... Far from it, it was just a dinner between work colleagues, of sorts but it had been eons since the fiery god had been sat in the company of such an attractive young immortal lady that he did what he always did when extremely nervous. He talked, or _more accurately_, he rambled. Sharing with Persephone some of the less incriminating backstory behind his Olympus takeover bid..

"—I knew the kid was trouble from the get go, if I'da known how much.. I _mighta_ gone a different route." One eyebrow shot up at her uncomfortable twitching, finally realising what her problem was. "You don't get out much, do ya? Alright, talk t'me.. Is it this place, is it too nice? Oy _vey_, I thought somethin' like this might impress ya but ya aren't into material things, are ya?" His round yellow eyes rolled before they narrowed in a scrutinising manner. His eyes were so expressive, it was only now that they were sat directly across from one another and she was focusing on him trying to distract herself from her discomfort did she really see it now. How had she missed this before? His body language had always been so rigid, his mannerisms so cool and controlled when some slight inconvenience wasn't sending him into a torrent of emotional hissy flames. But in his eyes were the windows into his true thoughts..

Persephone only managed to open her mouth before his large hand raised to forestall her.

"_Don't_ _tell me! _I can figure it out for myself.." His expression turned thoughtful, his eyes roving her face as if studying her, seeing through her and into her soul. Well, if gods had souls, that is. Was... this the councillor? The long dormant side of him that she was seeing now? She did kind of feel like she was being psychoanalysed at this moment. But didn't councillors need you to talk to them first?

"Your repressed, that much is obvious by the way you slump your shoulders forwards. The twitching suggests a deep discomfort, like you feel you don't deserve to be here.. But your eyes tell me you wanna prove something... Huh, for a goddess that's unusual.." He muttered the last part out loud more for himself that for Persephone before straightening and grinning pleased with himself, lighting a cigar and inhaling the rich flavour into his lungs. "I gotta say, I've been in your company a week now and your nothin' like the girl Demeter is always wittering on about on Olympus. Does she even know you at all?" Smoke was exhaled everywhere with these words, curling into many vapours before disapating into nothing.

"No..." Persephone finally exhaled closing her green eyes so that her violet smoky eyeshadow and black kohl cat-eyed eyeliner was more visible. "I guess I've been playing up to the image she wants me to be for so long that I'm scared to show her the real me."

"_Aaaaaaand_, for what? The cost at losing yourself?" Hades' brows quirked confused. Sure, he faked being nice to the mush-headed god's upstairs and had lost some sense of himself since reappearing out of the Pool of Mnemosyne. Even now, after a week, he was still trying to process the thoughts and memories that had come flooding back to him.

"I dunno.." Persephone gave an uneasy expression and turned her head away so she wouldn't have to look into those intense eyes. "I don't want to disappoint her, she might hate who I am.." She found her chin snagged by a wisp of smoky vapour that turnedher head back around with such gentleness she was stunned when it solidified into Hades' long bony fingers.

"She's your mother." He had a look of complete disbelief on his face. "That's the one deity guaranteed _not_ to hate you."

"You don't know that—" Persephone started to counter him but was cut off when the finger that had still been curled around her chin moved to cover her lips.

"Seph, look at me. I tried to takeover Olympus, I had all the gods in chains, I had Zeus buried under a mountain of solid magma and my mom Nyx _doesn't_ hate me! _Sure_, she was a little irritable and disappointed in me but she still loves me.. And your worried your personality will be a problem?" Hades emoted his hand from her trying to ignore the mental note that her lips were incredibly soft against his finger. He then took the cigar he had been continuing to puff during their conversation and flicked the ash tip into a tray nearby.

"Wait, I thought Rhea was—" Persephone looked confused.

"_Ah-ahahah.._" The fiery god made this incorrect noise while waving one finger before correcting her mistaken facts. "Biologically yes but to hide me from Cronos she had me sent down here. Nyx and Erebus raised me as their own, gave me my name and so I think of them as my true parents." He then took a few quick puffs as if hoping this would calm down his breif flare of annoyance.

"Sorry." Persephone flush a light peachy shade of embarrassment, shying back from him.

"Eh. Don't. You didn't know. No-one does, no-one cares. I'm just the guy that comes along and ruins their good time." Hades shrugged unconcerned and the two fell into a breif spell of silence. She chose not to point out that he didn't help himself on that front. This was the most open Hades had been with her, he was actually speaking to her without being prompted into it for once and she didn't want to upset him at this moment.

"Can I ask you something?" Persephone spoke breaking the quiet and flicking an unruly lock of blonde out of her face. Her green eyes looking curious towards the blue flamed god and pushing her finished plate to the side so she could rest her forearms on the table.

"You just did." His smirk was crooked as he took the final drag on his cigar then stubbed it out into the ashtray. "But go ahead." Despite his calm appearance Persephone bit her lip unsurely before taking a slow bracing breath to mentalprepare herself.

"Why don't you interact with the souls?" Whatever Hades had been expecting her to ask this was not it and he choked slightly on the mouthful of nectar he had just taken, swallowing hard then coughing a little.

""Excuse me?" He asked immediately, he had expected this question eventually but even so. "Gettin' kinda personal, aren't we?"

"Hey, if you can psychoanalysis me then I can ask this." The youthful looking goddess asked brightly looking intent on getting the answer.

"Ok. Fine. I'll give you that one." Hades responded before considering how much to tell her. "I used to be bright-eyed and keen like you before the weight of the Titan War and my brother _Zeus_ crushed it outta me.." The blue flamed god actually shuddered at the mention of the one god that had tormented him for so long whether it was intentional or not, their rivalry ran far deeper than just that of siblings. "I was just a teen when Zeus came recruiting, my first look at the upper realms was nothin' but carnage.."

"—then when that was over your right back here forced to deal with the worst the surface has to offer.." Persephone nodded sympathetically feeling pity well up in her heart. It was hard to imagine any spirit witnessing so much negativity and not being corrupted by it, no matter how strong it was.

"Bingo.. That's pretty much hittin' the nail on it's head. It's not that I don't wanna talk to the dead but I have heard the same story time and time again. It gets repetitive and old _fast._." The fiery god uttered grimly before looking up and recognising her pliant emotional look for what it was yet feeling undeserving of her sympathy. This was odd, usually he would pull these empathetic heartstrings, working them to move the dupe like the puppet master he was but he really didn't want to do that to her... _Geez Hades, your losin' it big time now. Friendzoned this mornin' now deep truths t'night, why don'tcha just tell her where ya hid the helmet and hand her the keys while your at it?_

"You must know that most of them are just scared and confused, right? They just need a little compassion.." Persephone was saying unaware of him mentally scolding himself for getting too close and comfortable with a goddess he barely knew.

"Your not seriously gonna tell me how to do my job, are ya?" And just like that he was back to the cool aloof front. His emotions restrained once more behind that deadpan gaze and stoic voice. She was losing points for this, metaphorically speaking. He was even sat up ridged once more acting as if their previous conversation had never happened and the change was so sudden that it disarmed the blonde goddess completely.

"What? No, no, of course not. It's just—"

"_Check!_" Hades had swivelled in his seat and bellowed at the waiting staff like he had not heard a word she said before casually turning back and pulling his wallet out of a curl of grey smoke. "Gotta love ya an' leave ya Seph, the nose is never far from the grindstone in this place but hey, this was fun we should do it again and... yeh, gotta run. Ciao!" He reeled this line as the bill arrived, he pulled a small wad of money out to pay for their meal, grabbed his receipt and vanished out into a puff of black smoke. This left Persephone blinking confused at the spot he had been sat in more moments ago before feeling a sinking pit in her stomach and slight sadness in her heart..

* * *

"So.. How was the big date?" Pain asked the moment the blue flamed god appeared on the docks of the Styx to check on how business had been in his absence, obviously his two dense minions had gotten the wrong idea about why he had taken Persephone out for dinner. This was hardly surprising.

"Did you show her a whole new Underworld?" Panic added keenly holding his clipboard close to his chest with a wide grin. Both looked eager for any titbit of juicy details even though there was none.

"Boys, boys, boys.. I think you have misread the situation. It wasn't a date." Hades responded moving his hands in a 'simmer down' gesture.

"Uh-huh, Yeh. _Sure_ it wasn't your flamefulness, why'd you take her to the fanciest place down here then?" The rose pink imp added in a brazen move of jesting complete with wide grin, clearly not believing that his boss could not have been on a date.

"_Ooh! _I know! You finally tricked her into signing a contract, didn't you? You just took her there to schmooze her good, right?" His skinny teal twin added jumping in front of his chubbier non-identical brother and smiling widely. If it wasn't a date then this seemed the most logical reason to him.

"What? _Nohhh.._ I did _not_ make her sign a contract." Hades flared irritably at this suggestion. He knew that before the 'Titan Incident' this is exactly the kind of thing he would have done but she was a goddess, not a client. The thought hadn't even crossed his mind.

"Oh.."

"Um..."

Both imps now looked completely stumped as to why he had taken the beautiful young looking goddess out to dinner and were scratching their horns trying to understand the reason behind it.

"Why take her out then..." Panic muttered lightly to himself pacing swiftly back and forth only pausing to tap his chin.

"Wait a minute.. Is this one of those rhetorical things?" Pain suddenly asked his master making his brother whip around to see the response. Hades facepalmed at the complete stupidity of his minions, this was why he didn't spend much time with them and would barricade himself in his office with a mountain of paperwork.

"I just took her out as a thank you for pitchin' in and helpin' us out, that's it. End of. Ba-boom, done." Hades snapped back, his flames switching to a ticked of warning yellow as he glared down at the pair in frustration.

"He never did that for me, he do that for you?" Pain uttered softly to his non-identical twin and Panic shook his head roughly.

"Not that I recall." Panic responded before reasoning, "Maybe he only does it with girls." This made his chubby rose pink partner with the flop of burgundy coloured hair blink then nod in agreement.

"Makes sense.." He added as the pair had completely forgotten their noe yellow flamed boss was still stood there looking irritated at being ignored.

"_Hello!_ Not finished here!" Hades finally snapped and this made both imps look around a little timidly. "Did you two figure out _where_ Persephone has been sleeping all this time?" He asked and this made both imps suddenly flash him sheepish grin making the god exhale slowly in frustration. This could only mean two things, they either hadn't got around to it due to work, or more likely had completely forgotten that he had asked them to do this before he had collected Persephone for their not-a-date dinner.

"Eh-heh... Sleeping?" Panic uttered nervously, shaking on the spot.

The entire Underworld temoured with the explosion of flames that followed this and both Pain and Panic found themselves charmed to blackened crisps as Hades breathed hard afterhis moment of fury.

"I asked one very simple thing, didn't I? I would like to know _where_ in the Underworld Persephone has hunkered down since you failed to offer her any kind of sleeping arrangements when I was out of it. Since she is refusing room and board I want, _no!_ I _need_ to know she is somewhere safe. Got it?" The god explained slowly, forcing himself to put on a calm and collected front. Why she was refusing to sleep in his home was beyond him and why she was refusing to tell him where she was sleeping at this moment baffelled him beyond words. He knew goddesses were often fearful of being spied on by unwanted spectators or suitors but he just needed to know she was somewhere safe. The Underworld could be a surprisingly dangerous place in the small nocturnal hours and he was in enough hot water with the god's on the surface without her coming to any harm under his watch.

"Couldn't you just... I dunno, get Cerberus to find it?" Pain kinked a brow scratching one horn in slight bemusement. "I mean tracking things is kinda what he does best, isn't it?" He expected to get even more charred for suggesting such a thing, in fact the horrified gasp that came from Panic and the fact that he was now cowerieng behind him told Pain his twin brother expected it too.

"I..." He had been about rebuke them for trying to weasel out of a job but froze then hummed thoughtfully at the suggestion rubbing his angular chin as he considered it. They weren't wrong Cerberus was an excellent tracker and Persephone had not been introduced to his pet yet. The enormous black dog was probably already aware she was down here, unlike the imps he was not stupid and had keen eyes and noses for new details. "Fine... I will use the dog but your not off the hook." He moved passed them muttering to himself. "Memo to me: Mame you after the dog walk."

Both imps gave each other a nervous look, his not-a-date must have not gone so well, hopefully this would go better and he would forget about the threat. Or perhaps Cerberus would drag him into the Pool of Lethe again and he would forget about it like what happened with Hercules a couple of years back, neither imp ever planned to reveal that he had known longer than two years that his nephew had been alive.. The repercussions could be nasty.

* * *

Persephone had been sitting by the Pool of Mnemosyne, she had ignored the small seismic tremor that told her Hades had clearly been venting some of his pent-up rage out on his minions. She wondered breifly if he did this as a coping mechanism since he had nobody to confide in here but he obviously didn't want to confide in her. Who could blame him? She had been here a week and she expected him to just change things, like that? Obviously he was not going to do that, he didn't trust her. She would need to earn it first..

Her thoughts were untangled at the heavy footfalls that were hard enough to cause the waters of the natural spring behind her to ripple and the ground quake, her asphodels quivering. Persephone's bright green eyes widened as she nervously recalled Hades' warning about the Underworld being a dangerous place when she was alone. Then just as the footfalls were nearly upon her the sound of deafeningly deep barking made her fear turn to curiosity.

_...Was that dogs? What kind of dogs barked like—_

A startled gasp left her cherry pink lips at the sight of the humongous black furred beast with a deep grey chest as it appeared. It had three heads with three sets of bright red eyes with round black pupils that were all focused on her. If she had hang ups about her small stature next to the towering height of Hades then she felt minuscule next to this monster of a mutated dog. These insecurities slowly ebbed when the beast's middle head sniffed her keenly with it's barn sized sloppy wet nose, once it seemed to have confirmed her scent the right head yipped excitedly as the left head immediately licked her with it's long pointed pink tongue.

"_Eurgh..._ thanks." Persephone drawled shaking her now drenched arms, feeling the saliva saturate her purple chiton. She then noticed that this huge lumbering beast was wearing a collar and had a broken leash. _It was a pet? What irresponsible owner would—_

"_CERBERUS!_"

_Nevermind. _Persephone folded her arms across her wet blossom and narrowed her green eyes as Hades appeared out of a puff of black smoke, leash in hand obviously pinpointing the enormous three-headed dog by the sound of his deafening barks.

"When I say heel, that means you _heel! _Me master, you obedient dog. _Look at this! _How many of these must we go through before ya grasp the concept?" Hades snarled up at the enormous dog waving the broken leash in his three faces. Cerberus immediately sat down, it's three heads dropping their ears, cocking to the sides while throwing huge puppy eyes and whining pitifully. "Oh no! Don't start with the puppy eyes it's not gonna work on me this time... I ain't buying it, I ain't..." He smacked his face when the huge beast slumped down lower and crawled forwards continuing to make the cute puppy faces, the god's resistance crumbling. "Oy vey... Why did I let those two pathetic yutzes talk me into getting a dog.." His huge hand lowered and his expression softened towards his pet. "Ok, ok, your a good boy. _Yeesh_, don't make me say that again any time soon, capeesh?" Cerberus immediately sat back up, tongues lolling out looking pleased once more before all three heads reached forwards and began to simultaneously lick their master affectionately.

As Hades made a noise of annoyance at the impromptu saliva bath Persephone found herself giggling, her arms uncrossing as a smile tweaked her lips. Her demeanour immediately softening after witnessing Hades with his enormous pet which she didn't even know he had.

"_Alright_, you had your fun now back off." Hades snarled finally using his strength to push the huge hairy beast back off of him before he became aware of the sound of girlish giggling nearby. "Ah. Seph, good. He found ya, not that I'm surprised or anythin'. Findin' things and stoppin' things leavin' is about all he's good for."

"You didn't tell me you had a dog.. err dogs." The blonde goddess kinked a brow at the blue flamed god but he merely smirked back ready with his response.

"You never asked if I had pets." He replied jauntily.

"Touché." Persephone pouted not knowing why this response should surprise her. "So his name is Cerberus, right?" She added moving forward a little so that she stood beside Hades, pleased to see that his moment of irritation with her had passed and choosing not to push him again about socialising with the souls charged in his care. "Is he housebroken?" The goddess wondered if this was the reason she had not seen him at all.

"Sure, he just doesn't understand the difference between a chew toy and my stuff so I mostly just let him roam the northern banks of the Styx, guard the main gates and stop the souls from leavin'." Hades responded lightly, now that Cerberus has found the pretty lady his master had been looking for his three big noses were sniffing the air then the huge dog got up and began to track the other thing his master had wanted from him.

"What's he doing now?" Persephone looked a little nervous as the lumbering great dog continued to sniff and root around.

"Don't mind him, he's just bein' nosey." Hades drawled unconcerned then looking at her with some seriousnessto his large round yellow eyes. "About earlier—"

"I know, I know, I know, I shouldn't have asked that. It's not my place to question your methods.." Persephone replied before flashing him a girly smile. "I'm sorry. Friends again?"

"Eh. Sure, why not?" Hades' grin appeared back on his face, he had intended on apologising to her for being rude, it was just his defence mechanism and he hadn't intended on being so abrasive but she had unintentionally beat him to the punch even though she technically had nothing to apologise about. Still, if she was offering it he would take it.

"_Hey! Stop that!_" The sound of Persephone's loud sheik of outrage as her blonde head swivelled around at the sound of scratching and ripping. Hades turned too blinking in shock at the huge black furred dog as his three heads were now ripping at something that was hidden in a bare crook of the lone white poplar tree.

"Cerberus. What have ya got there?" Hades' voice spoke sternly and the massive black furred dog pulled back slowly, his jaws filled with blankets and straw.

"That's my bed! Put.. that... _DOWN!_" Persephone snarled out in fury, her hair billowing into flames as her star white aura brightened and the three wide mouths of Cerberus let go of the now shredded bedding and it wasn't the only thing that dropped.

Hades' jaw also fell open in shock. It had taken him weeks of hard training to finally get Cerberus to listen to him and even then the mutt didn't listen to everything he said. But it seemed his resident fiery buxom goddess had a way with the big brute as he was now sitting up straight, tongues lolling out.

"Wait! This is where you've been sleepin'?" Hades exclaimed in shock. "You refused a room in my house to sleep out here in a tree." The blue flamed god couldn't help but look incredulous at this. Who in the right mind would trade a room and bed for blankets, straw and a tree?

"I've been looking for the path." Persephone responded. "I can't do that if I'm caged inside, nothing personal Hades. My mother often tried to cage this bird, tell me, will you be caging her too?" There was a saddened look to those green eyes now, with the kind of defeated stance that could only come from someone who had been beaten down almost as much as him.

"Cage you? Hehe, Seph we've been through this. I ain't your jailer do whatcha want, the room will be waitin' for ya. But, _uh_, you might wanna enlighten me about this path. Maybe I know it? I have lived here practically my whole life.." Hades responded as he flipped up into the air and lounged across the edge of the Pool of Mnemosyne with a playful smirk. These words made a small smile curve those plump cherry lips. This was why she was growing fond of him, he wasn't trying to make her something she wasn't and even though he kept insisting he wasn't holding her she knew that she couldn't return to the surface without his permission. The goddess had stumbled upon this little known law when interning for Hermes a few summers back. She knew it when the imps had come seeking her and she came anyway hoping that rescuing the Lord of the Dead would be enough to earn her passage back when she sought it for spring.

"When you pushed me into the Pool of Mnemosyne I got flashes of points in my life including a few moments when I fell down a hole on Sicily and wandered down in the dark before growing these asphodels and running into you. It's all kinda fuzzy, I guess I wasn't really old enough to form concise memories of being down here, I don't really recall any of our conversation just that you were nice to me. I've not really been sleeping here, just resting. I was trying to work out where it was that I came down, there must be a passage from here that leads straight to Sicily." Persephone explained then tapped her chin with a deep purple painted nail and looking thoughtfully towards the endless sea of asphodels and the odd bare tree. "I just wish I could remember better but not even the pool can help me with it."

"Hmm, So there is an unguarded way into my realm.. That's concerning." Hades muttered the last part to himself. It never occurred to him before that this was possible but it did make sense that little Persephone had just wandered straight from Sicily and he should really help her search for this undiscovered entry point and be sure that it was hidden from mortal eyes. He did not like the idea of it being easy to get into his realm, if mortals wanted to come down before their time, fine, but he wasn't going to make the trek easy. "Tell ya what Seph, if I help ya locate this entry point with Cerberus here-" The fiery god gestured to his enormous dog that was now laid down with his grey belly exposed. "-_you_ will move into the room in my home and make sure that this entry is not easy to get into, deal?"

"You mean like grow some thorny barbs over it as a deterrent?" The youthful blonde goddess asked with an upward inflection of curiosity.

"Yeh, sure. That works. You can even throw in some of those poisonous plants you love so much. I always had a soft spot for things that can sting and bite." The god got up from his resting spot by the Pool of Mnemosyne and at these words Persephone swept forwards in delight and hugged him tightly, pushing herself up on the balls of her feet to kiss his angular hollow cheek. The moment she had done this she recoiled in shock, a peachy blush covering her own full cheeks which she covered feeling the heat of her embarrassment. Hades blinked stunned, slowly reaching up to touch the spot where she had kissed him moments before. Both immortals exchanged a breif glance before looking away as the air felt thick and awkward before the Lord of the Dead cleared his throat and tried to shake off his own bashfulness, it had been eons since any girl had shown him any affection and he really didn't know what to do about it.

"Ah-hum, well, why don't ya tell me where ya started and we'll go from there, 'kay?" He added trying to ignore the fact that his usually flaming blue hair had flared into white hot flames and hoping that they would die down and return blue before she figured out why they had changed in the first place.. He hadn't experienced a lusty flare up like this in quite a while and his lack of self control was embarrassing..

* * *

**_Hey guys, apologies for the lack of update last week it was breaking records in how hot it was and I just couldn't write, my mind was frying when I tried. It's only in the last couple of days that it has finally cooled off enough to let me write. And this chapter is a day late as a result, again sorry._**

**_Anyway, I spoke of Narcy (Narcissus) in the last chap but I totally forgot about this part of the story so that's been delayed for the next chapter. We have more interaction between Hades and Persephone instead, hope it's not too much of a disappointment. It is important that their relationship is slow burning as Hades really does have trust issues and a few defense mechanisms to work through before he can properly open up to her. I felt that for a god as despised as him it was only right that he have his guard up. The same with Persephone as she has no doubt heard a lot of bad stuff about Hades from other gods._**

**_S.Y.N.T (See you next time..)_**

**A~Teal**


	9. Gods Just Want To Have Fun

**_Plight of Persephone_**

_Ok people, you know the score, I do not own Hercules, Disney does and even though they have not issued plans for a live action redo, give it time. Everything else seems to be getting the treatment so I wouldn't be shocked if it happened. And since Disney aren't entertaining the idea of a remake, I decided I would. Don't worry, you do not need to have read any of my other stories to read this one and the original is NOT going anywhere, it stays here where it belongs.. I do own this version of Persephone and all other original characters and places that come up, permission and advice is always given to those who want to use them but do tell me if you use my characters so I may view and comment on your work.. Just like the original I will be basing this story around Greek myths and twisting them around just like Disney did, I will also be reworking some of the original plot lines.. Please review and let me know your thoughts.. Thank you for your time. Enjoy! X_

* * *

**_Reviews:_**

**_Selena's StoryTime: (chap1) Thanks, I wanted Persephone's fascination with the darker aspects to go further than just the Underworld itself and since most poisonous plants Greek origins are linked to the Underworld it makes sense that Persephone created them. I'm glad your enjoying the story so far.. X_**

**_taralucent98: (chap1) Yes, Hades' voice always rings through loud and clear and honestly, I'm not sure who would play Persephone I just focus on her as her own character, I do have a voice for her but it's her own, not an actress. I picture her with this soft girly voice that changes to a steely sharp ringing quality with almost a bratty edge to it when she gets annoyed or frustrated. You are free to picture any voice you wish for her though, I would never want to stifle freedom of imagination. X_**

**_zsofius: I'm glad that you are enjoying the stories and writing is just a hobby of mine, I don't take it seriously. It's nice to know my writing and story editing has improved though, that's good to know.. Well, Hades has always been my favourite Disney character and the humour in Disney's Hercules has always been similar to my own. When I started writing there were only a few stories up about Hades and Persephone and none of them really showed Hades being nice to her and Persephone making the conscious decision to go to the Underworld herself, she was either being tricked into a deal or kidnapped, or Hades was stabbed by a love arrow to make him more accepting of the idea.. There was a lot of room for me to make my own story without stepping on too many toes and since I'm one of the early writers to this page I can recycle my own stuff for the rewrite without fear of being accused of stealing.. X_**

**_Sharkeygirl: I.m glad your happy with the chapter. I like the Hades and Persephone relationship to even though they don't really know where they stand with each other at this moment X_**

**_yellow rose: I'm glad you like my stories. I guess that depends on the kind of story you like, mine are generally light hearted, touching base with deeper issues while trying to keep the humour in line with the film and series. I use Greek myths but distort them just like Disney did, although not many people realise that according to the oldest Greek myths Hades was in fact the youngest son of Cronos, not the oldest and he wasn't eaten he was tossed away into Tartarus after Posideon was tossed into the ocean, it was only Zeus he attempted to eat.. X_**

**_Madi It: Um... wish granted... I guess? Happy reading! X_**

**_KLRocks100: Next chapter is here, hope it wa worth the wait.. X_**

* * *

_**Chapter Nine: God's Just Want To Have Fun**_

It had been a couple of days since she had agreed to sleep inside the House of Hades if the Lord of the Dead helped her figure out how exactly her three year old self had fallen into the Underworld in the first place. He had been true to his word, surprisingly having Hades' help had made the search much easier. He had summoned two maps, one of the Underworld and one of the surface. As he suspected the vast expanse of the Fields of Purgatory overlapped with Sicily and it was this area that the two gods headed in. When the asphodels began to fade out and they had reached a hole that was obscured by tree roots the two gods knew they were on the right track.

But nothing prepared either of them for what they found when they ascended upwards.

"What is this place?" Hades asked looking around the dark wooded area, the foliage blotting out most of the sunlight so that his eyes didn't have to adjust to the change in light. Around the two gods was dense creepy looking plant life, things with long jagged thorns and poisonous barbs. Some of bushes were bursting with blood red or dark skinned fruits meaning that they were now in deep autumn. Time moved differently in the Underworld as what seemed like a couple of weeks to her had clearly been a month on the surface.

"It's mine." She responded with a smile, happy to be back in her private grove and this made the blue fiery god turn back in surprise to her. "Hmh. My mom said that I begged her for this space, apparently I didn't stop until she relented. I didn't really know why I wanted this place so badly but I guess I didn't want her to find out how I got into the Underworld. Looks like I've been guarding the entrance without even knowing it. This place is mine to do with as I wish, grow what I want without my mother prying. Unlike the rest of the plants on the surface it's my powers that keep them alive, not my mothers so they are immune to the change in seasons."

"And no one comes here?" Hades asked curiously, his brows quirked as his eyes had scanned around noticing that there was not a living soul anywhere in sight animal or human. He vaguely remembered saying to her three year old self not to let her mother find out how she had fallen into his realm in case she ever needed him. He hadn't really expected the tiny goddess to go to such lengths to protect it but this was both incredible and convenient. This place was so gloomy and secluded it was perfect, it didn't need anything else to ward off wayward mortals.

"No, the mortals wouldn't dare come into my sacred space, the only ones that are allowed in here are my friends." Persephone replied with a small smile before turning to the single white poplar tree behind her, the first tree she had grown when beginning her grove. With a wriggle of her fingers the roots began to reposition themselves, uncovering the hole into the Underworld, which was as deep chasm surrounded by the ends of tree roots.

"Well, good. That's good to know.." Hades said and she could see his brilliant mind turning with all this new information, processing it for only he knew what purpose. "So, since that's settled you know what this means toots.." He flashed her a wide smirk and even though he had no underhanded thoughts at this present time it still looked just as crooked.

"Yeh, yeh, yeh.. I have to crash in your crib." Persephone rolled her bright green eyes, her bottom lip jutted out in slight bitterness at the fact that she was now going to be hauled up inside a building and not able to sleep outside which had always been her preferred choice. She had always liked sleeping outside, it was something her mother didn't quite understand but she found the huge farmhouse confining and didn't like being boxed in by walls and a roof, she liked to be under the trees of her grove, amoungst the fresh smells of her plants and trees. There was nothing like it in the whole cosmos.

"Geez, don't sound so happy about it, I'm puttin' ya right next to me." Hades intoned in a deadpan voice, hardly missing her less than enthusiastic response and feeling a slight sting from it. He never cared when any other god responded in this manner but it did coming from her, that was weird.

"Excuse me? I'm not sharing a bed with you!" The youthful blonde goddess looked shocked at the idea but the fiery god only chucked in amusement at her misunderstanding.

"_What? _No, no, no.. I meant I'll put you in the _room_ next to mine, it's almost as big as mine. I already fixed it up for ya.." The fiery god then leaned on the poplar tree behind her and adding in a light hearted but suggestive purr, "Unless you think you'll be too cold by yourself."

"Do I look like that kind of goddess to you?" Persephone bristled, the ends of her blonde hair threatening to ignite into flames, those bright olive green eyes flashing him a venomous look. Though rather than look threatened by her the gloomy God of the Dead who was still looming over her chuckled lightly before looking serious once more.

"Seph, I'm not that kinda god either. Turns out dames aren't so crazy about the whole Dead scene. In fact your the only gal who's ever stayed in my realm for an extended period of time that wasn't already dead." Hades exhaled deflating as he pulled back knowing that this made him sound utterly pathetic next to this young goddess who was a vision of loveliness, how any god hadn't managed to snap her up yet was completely beyond him.

"Really?" Persephone blinked her pale lilac shaded eyelids in surprise. That seemed so far-fetched, he was the ruler of the biggest realm in the cosmos. He had more riches than Zeus himself and he wasn't that bad looking to her. So, he wasn't handsome in the conventional sense of the word but she had never thought face value was the best way to judge someone. "Have you ever had a date?" The question blurted our of her before she had even thought it through properly but fortunately for her Hades didn't get offended by it.

"Oh sure. But not since I was about your age, give or take a few centuries. Name was Leuce, she was a dryad with a nice face, heh, you kinda remind me of her actually. She liked to throw shade at me too." There was an edge of a sad smile before the god straightened and his moment of grief vanished. "But enough about her, she's gone now. I'm over it. Let's focus on _you _sugar!"

"Uh, ok but don't call me that, it's creepy." Persephone gave a slight shudder of disgust at this perticular pet name, it sounded too sweet and sappy to be coming from him and that freaked her out more than anything she had seen in his realm so far.

"Fine, fine, whatever you say doll, now do ya need to grab anything while we're topside?" He added brightly knowing how most of the goddess on Olympus seemed to need an endless amount of clothes and beauty products o survive and he had made sure she had a big room to fill with her necessary junk.

"That depends." Persephone said lightly, not moving to suddenly go and collect any items that she treasured or would help her feel at home in his realm. "Am I allowed to grow anything while I'm staying with you?"

"What kind of things do you wanna grow?" Hades threw her a shrewd look now, the last thing he wanted was for the Underworld to look anything like the surface.

"Nothing that isn't surrounding us right now. I make everything I need with plants from this grove, if you let me have a little space to grow them then I won't need to bring anything." The white-skinned goddess replied with a bright girly smile and Hades blinked in disbelief. She wasn't bringing a single thing? She just wanted to be able to grow plants and make the things she needed. She could do that? Was she for real?

"What kinda space are we talking about?" Hades asked carefully, not missing this crucial detail. She had obviously been eyeing some choice titbit of his real estate already and he wasn't sure he wanted her to be messing with it yet. He had a reputation to uphold, he didn't need the dead or mortals thinking he had gone soft.

"Um, maybe the Pool of Lethe.." Persephone bit her bottom lip timidly, her green eyes widening into an imploring look. "No offence but I don't really get the beach look you have going there at the moment."

"Actually, come to think of it I don't get it either. Truth be told I only set it up that way for a scheme that turned south fast when Zeus' Wonderbrat got wind of it.." Hades grumbled with a frown at the memory of this failed coop. "Y'know what, I'mma risk taker, so go ahead, remodel the place for me."

Persephone blinked in shock looking stunned, not expecting him to actually agree.

"Your letting me do it?" Her voice was hushed in quiet awe, she had mentally prepared herself for rejection so was not expecting him to actually be open to it.

"Heh, sure. This place proves you _clearly_ have some untapped talent, your mom isn't letting you reach your potential. So go nuts, you and I obviously have a similar foreboding gloomy style. I like this place, it's very homey and trust me, this is comin' from a guy that usually hates flowers. Now, whatta you say we go downstairs and talk finer points over a cuppa nectar."

"Ok, sounds fair and I have some spiced nectar stored here which you should really try out." The youthful goddess nodded her head in an agreeable fashion summoning a large corked bottle out of white orbs before suddenly finding herself swept up against Hades' strong torso, realising just now how baggy his chiton was. She had just assumed that he had been hiding some kind of beer gut, letting himself go after the Titan War much like Posideon had but she was wrong. Underneath his black robes he felt firm, well-toned and she flushed at her own curiosity of how his body might look uncovered. She shouldn't be thinking such things about a god who was twice her age, it was inappropriate. He couldn't possibly be interested in her and her juvenile appearance as he didn't seem to take much notice of her burning blush as they vanished out into black smoky darkness..

* * *

When Persephone had asked Hermes to get hold of Narcissus she just expected him to send him back with a box of beauty products and maybe a chiton or two. She had not expected the God of Self-Obsession to show up in the Underworld in all his self-absorbed, violet shining glory and get out the gondola leaving a rather exasperated Charon throwing him a deep bony scowl.

"What in Tartarus is _he_ doin' here?" Had been Hades' immediate reaction completely stunned by the presence of the one god, next to Zeus that annoyed him the most in the cosmos. His flames switching orange as his skin began to redden in his frustration as this loathesome god had just shown up unannounced before the Lord of the Dead could ask Persephone if she wanted to duck out early and play hookie with him for the rest of the afternoon.

"Yeh, don't worry boo boo I'm not here for you." Narcissus drawled unconcerned completely bypassing the Lord of the Dead and grinning widely at the sight of the white-skinned goddess, enveloping her into a warm embrace. "Persephone, girlfriend, how _are_ you? You have _got_ to tell me what your doing down here.." He added with a dazzling smile, guiding her away from the docks without even bothering to get consent from the Lord of the Dead.

"Wait.. Boo boo?" The god switched suddenly back to blue skin blinking confused, this made his flames of irritation puff out in bemusement at what the purple-skinned god with well-groomed quaff of silvery white hair had called him, both imps errupting into badly repressed sniggers of amusement at their boss' reaction.

"Boo boo.." Panic repeated snorting in laughter through his long beak-like nose.

"Hehe, that's an instant classic." Pain added gleefully holding his round belly as he chuckled.

"Speaking of classics.." Hades recovered from his monetary stupefaction and blasted both imps off the edge of the pair into the stigalian mud feeling instantly better, his attention caught by the skeletal ferryman behind him.

"_Urgh_.. Just be grateful you didn't have to listen to him prattle on about himself, pompous windbag.." Charon grumbled pushing off from the dock and beginning to row back up stream uttering, "He better not be coming back this way. I'll shove him overboard."

"He won't be, don't worry." Hades added in a similar tone of irritation. His pleasant afternoon hanging out with Persephone while whittling through the workload had just been ruined by a god with an ego bigger than Zeus', if that was even possible. Deciding that he would rather over see the afterlives of the dead than spend one minute of time with Mr Full-of-Himself the Lord of the Dead headed for the Chambers of Judgement, wondering if any of the three Judges of Doom were councilling any cases worth him presiding over. Things were now dead out here, literally...

"Narcy, you shouldn't tease him like that, you'll get him riled and it wasn't fair of us to just ditch him like that, he can get surprisingly sensitive about these things." Persephone was scolding her long-time friend and ally as they arrived in Hades' throne room. She and Narcissus had known each other since they were kids and unlike many mortals and immortals she was immune to his allure and charm.

"Oh boo-hoo, you can just flash him a sultry pouty look, bat those pretty green eyes and he'll be putty in your hands, believe me girl. You need to start workin' those looks." Narsicuss responded with a keen smirk before giving her purple outfit and long blonde hair the once over. "Now, please tell me the hothead offered you your own room and your not forced to sleep with him like I've heard."

"What? _No! _He isn't forcing me to do _anything_, where did you hear that?" Persephone glowered at the purple-skinned god, her hair flickering into angry flames at this very suggestion.

"Take it easy sister, it's just a rumour on the grapevine. I didn't really believe it anyway, was just checking to be sure." Narcissus replied unconcerned by her mini flare up as he was used to her emotional overreactions now.

"Who did you here it from?" Persephone fumed still reeling that someone up there was spreading malicious lies about her. Who would do such a thing? Who could do such a thing! Only her closest friends and her mother knew she was down here and they would never say anything so hurtful.

"From Echo, who else hun? I appreciate the few times you've had to turn me into a flower to hide from her when she was corporal but Hera's stupid curse means she still finds me and repeats rumours she's heard on the wind. And it's not like I can ask her who told her, can I?" The God of Self-Obsession pulled out his trademark red mirror and admired his own image in it, fluffing his hair and humming appriaciatively at what he was seeing, still looking unperturbed about the rumours concerning his friend.

"No, I suppose not." Persephone muttered in an unhappy tone, knowing that her disembodied voice could only repeat what she had heard in certain parts.

"Look, forget the rumours for a hot minute and show me this room. I got to know what I'm working with here.." The handsome purple-skinned god drawled in a lazy tone as he pulled back the mirror and smiled his most charming smile at his old friend.

"Fine. Come with me." The blonde goddess replied exhaling with a little exasperation, narrowing her green eyes. She knew better than to even attempt to try and engage this perticular friend of hers into a heartfelt conversation, that's what she had Hermes and Cyane for, Narcissus was the friend she went to for style advice and that was the only reason he was here. So the white-skinned goddess grabbed the muscly bare purple arm of Narcusis and the two vanished into a swirl of white orbs...

* * *

The grotto of Hecate on the lower west side of the Nether Regions, a place where the boarders of Hades' main domain met the surreal realms of Hypnos, the primordial God of Slumber, father of Morpheus and Phantosis, it was his powers that was woven into both his sons blankets and allowed them to send their charges to his dream realms. Even though all the subterranean land that the surface light could not touch was technically ruled by Hades the witch lived in a small pocket of land that the blue flamed god rarely paid attention to, purely because there was nothing there of interest to him. At this moment Canis and Lupus, her identical dark wolf minions grinned widely at their mistress who was lounging o her silvery wolf skinned throne looking thoroughly pleased with herself.

"May we just say that having Echo spread that rumour was brilliant." One wolf brother flashed a sharp toothed grin to his mistress.

"Not that she had much choice in the matter considering she can only repeat words she has heard." The other added with an equally mischievous grin stretching his grey furred muzzle.

"Couldn't have done it without the information you two gleaned from watching Hades and Persephone, I told you patience would bring its own reward." Hecate trilled brightly with a slight wriggle of one index finger.

"And you were correct, is the plan to spread more rumours about what is happening between the two of them?" Lupus asked cocking his head curiously to the left, wondering just what awful scheme the Goddess of Witchcraft had cooking in her sharp mind.

"For now but that is only phase one. While Hades plays host to Demeter's darling little girl you two will have Echo spreading seeds of doubt about what is actually going on while I remind the god's of his treachery and how he was hardly so caring with Hera's boy Hercules. Demeter might be fine about Persephone being here now but if we play our cards right by winter, when she retreats to Olympus the other gods will be able to unravel her confidence for us." Hecate cackled to herself in glee at her truly wicked plot to undermine the Goddess of the Harvest's faith in her youngest brother, something that was truly a marvel considering it was not that long ago that she had been chained up by him along with the rest of Olympus.

"And phase two?" Canis chipped in cocking his head to the right, angling away from his twin brother but looking equally intrigued by his mistress' scheme.

"That begins when winter arrives and Hades becomes too busy to keep his eyes on Persephone.." The immortal witch drawled as her greenish-silvery eyes narrowed deviously. Her hand waved over the flames on her torch and the image of Persephone appeared in the blinding ball of fire..

* * *

An etherial figure dropped down through the circular roof of the throne room making no noise, it fluidly swirled around before the spectral form popped through the arched doorway to the Vortex if Phlegethon making the numbers on the counter flicker forward, a small ringing noise sounding. This barely caught the attention of Hades who had been lounging bored on his throne, the latest copy of _Blood, Sweat and Tears, a sadist's guide to torture _was abandoned in a curled heap of loose pages at the smoking hem of his feet.

With a heavy exhale the large god turned his blue flames head a fraction just to check the latest numbers. He was bored and there was nobody to kick around. The imps were busy and he hadn't seen Persephone since she had disappeared with that narcissistic yutz, the Fates only knew what they were doing! If the idiot actually cared about anyone more than himself Hades might've been worried about their long absence.. Truthfully, he was just jealous that Narciyutz was getting some one-on-one time with Persephone and he was left out in the old.

Hades groaned and pinched his nose in frustration before hauling himself up and began pacing, trying to work off some of his frustration. With no minions to torment and now pretty young goddess to loosen his tensions he could feel his flames turning orange quicker than they curled around his shoulders. He was just considering summoning Pain and Panic from whatever tedious job they were in the middle of of and using them for some much needed target practise when a sweet voice came from behind him.

"The ego has _left_ the building. _Ooh_, you look a little tense, everything ok?" He turned around to see the concern welling in those amazing olive green eyes. The tiny blonde goddess was now standing at the foot of the stairs leading to Hades' private quarters where he had allocated her a temporary room to stay in.

"Oh yeh, sure. I'm just peachy.. You carry on babe and don't worry about li'l ol' me, I'm used to bein' on my own.." Hades drawled waving one hand as if shooing her away, his tone light and casual masking his emotions well but something in his eyes must have given him away as the small white skinned beauty smiled sweetly to him.

"I'm sorry about Narcy, he doesn't really think about others. Have you had lunch? If not I'll make it up to you.." Persephone cooed in an airy sweet tone, giving her best attempt at a sultry expression, curious to see if Narcissus was right and unsurprisingly the annoyingly perceptive god was. A snake-like leer curved the much older god's face and it was obvious, even to a goddess as virtuous as her that his restraint was slipping.

"Oh really? Just what are you offering?" Hades' brows shot upwards as his flames returned blue but did not recede back into their normal potion, still flickering animatedly around his shoulders.

"Hmh, you'll just have to come and see for yourself.." Persephone continued mysteriously moving across the throne room to the doorway to the right that would take her towards his kitchen, beckoning him to follow with a curl of her dainty, tapered finger. Purely because his curiosity was peaked now did Hades shrug carelessly and follow.

"Fine but what you put in front of me will decide whether or not I forgive you for ditchin' me, so hit me with your best shot." He added as his pointed teeth appeared turning his smirk into a wolfish leer. He loved the playful banter the two of them had deleloped over the short time she had been here and knew from the girlish giggling that came in response to his words that she was going to rise to his challenge.

"I wouldn't expect anything less from you Hades.."

* * *

**_Little Notes:_**

**_Hey guys, so sorry for taking so long with this update, hope it was worth the wait. Things got a little crazy at work as the school holidays can make it a little chaotic, then my birthday came around and I was off visiting people but now things seem to have settled down again I am here with an update. Thank you so much for the reviews, likes, favourites and views.. Wouldn't be back without them and hope that you stick around for more._**

**_Ok, just a few little things here that I'm going to cover. 1st is that I absolutely love Narcissus, he has always intrigued me considering in real myths he was not a god. I've always wondered why the creators made him one so 'm going out on a creative limb here and saying in this story that he was born one and much like Persephone he's just a minor god but also has loads of style and a self-absorbed attitude. I kinda like the idea of him and Persephone being friends since they were small with the nymph Echo as Narcy's obsessed stalker and Persephone having to protect her friend by turning him into a flower so he could hide from her from time to time.. I don't imagine that she's as close to him emotionally as she is with Hermes or Cyane but he is still someone she can count on when she needs him._**

**_And I've teased a little more of Hecate here. She will becoming back soon but at this minute her plans are kinda background moves that will come into play later on when we reach phase two of her scheme and she becomes central to the plot. You'll need to keep an eye out for Er.. Oh, speaking of eye outs, keep one on the look out for a certain red-head hero that will be cameoing soon!_**

**_ S.Y.N.T_**

**_A~Teal_**


	10. Festival of Woes

**_Plight of Persephone_**

_Ok people, you know the score, I do not own Hercules, Disney does and even though they have not issued plans for a live action redo, give it time. Everything else seems to be getting the treatment so I wouldn't be shocked if it happened. And since Disney aren't entertaining the idea of a remake, I decided I would. Don't worry, you do not need to have read any of my other stories to read this one and the original is NOT going anywhere, it stays here where it belongs.. I do own this version of Persephone and all other original characters and places that come up, permission and advice is always given to those who want to use them but do tell me if you use my characters so I may view and comment on your work.. Just like the original I will be basing this story around Greek myths and twisting them around just like Disney did, I will also be reworking some of the original plot lines.. Please review and let me know your thoughts.. Thank you for your time. Enjoy! X_

* * *

**_Reviews:_**

**_Sharkygal: Thank you, I'm glad you like Narcissus, he is a lot of fun to write. I see him as more perceptive than other gods give him credit for and a guy who leads the way in fashion while being on top of the latest news thanks to Echo, who still stalks him as a disembodied voice on the wind. Yes, he will be back although he will not have a huge part in the story he will play a small role of importance later on. I have plans for a couple of scenes with Hermes so prepare yourself for a couple of snarky gods to be making an appearance. X_**

**_GranadaCtonica: Thank you, I'm glad you are enjoying the story so far. I'm very happy you like Narcissus, he is definitely going to be one of the funnier gods. I kind of imagine him getting summoned for style advice, though I dread to think how he responds.. He will be back! X_**

* * *

**_Chapter Ten: Festival of Woes_**

Before she knew it the Harvest Moon Festival was upon her, it had sneaked up on her so fast that Persephone had actually forgotten all about it until Hades had reminded her of it, obviously having made a note of it in his datescroll. The white-skinned goddess was hardly a model of punctuality and organisation, having never in her immortal lifetime had any real responsibilities she had no need to be. While trying to cover for Hades in his absence Persephone had relied heavily on Pain and Panic directing her, much like she had relied on Hermes while interning with him, reminding her of where she needed to be and when as she could be quite scatterbrained on the job. She understood completely why he wrote everything down in his datescroll, a god's mind could turn to mush just trying to remember it all. The blue-flamed god was the hardest working god she had ever met. He was organised, he was punctual and he had every little detail memorised and down pat, he put Hermes to shame. His time was micromanaged to fit in his extensive work schedule which had been growing as the days rolled on and as a result she was seeing less of him.

Hades had warned her this would happen. As the temperature dropped on the surface realm the death rate increased and this meant that while her work schedule wouldn't change he would have less free time to spend with her. Persephone only had two duties and those were to greet New Arrivals and file his paperwork for him. Neither of these jobs were particularly taxing to her, the real challenge was showing up on time for her shifts. Due to the perpetual darkness of the Underworld the white-skinned youthful beauty was having real trouble telling the time, days just seemed to merge together down here and as a result she had no clue when she was supposed to be awake and when she was supposed to be sleeping. She had no idea how Hades was able to tell her what day it was or even how he knew when in that day it was but any time she asked him for the time he could always answer—

"_Late again_, I see.." The sudden loud boom of Hades' voice behind her make the youthful blonde goddess with pearly white skin and star bright aura squeal in surprise. As Persephone jumped in fright she dropped her phoenix feather pen only just managing to keep a hold of the purple clipboard that almost fell with it. Once she was over the shock of being startled Persephone's bright green eyes narrowed in a deep glower and she rounded on the incredibly tall Lord of the Dead who's blue flames rippled animatedly as he chuckled in amusement at her moment of fright.

"_You jerk!_" The goddess screeched out, her blonde hair billowing as he green eyes sparkled in her moment of rage and this only made Hades's grin twist in further enjoyment, at least until she started rapping him hard with the clipboard now in both hands.

"Hey, hey, _hey!_" The blue flamed god scowled and winced slightly at a particularly hard hit which came with a satisfyingly loud slap. It very breifly made the god's flaming hair jump up orange before he snatched the purple clipboard off her. "Enough with the slap happy attitude, thank you."

"Don't sneak up on me like that then!" Persephone's voice rose a little in her annoyance but there was definitely a firm steely edge to it.

"Ok, fine. Noted. No sneaking up on ya when ya have a clipboard in your hands." Hades drawled casually with a lazy smirk and a careless shrug, mentally noting that for a tiny buxom goddess she actually had one mean hit. "Forgive me Seph, I couldn't resist.." His grin remained friendly while his mind added, _'Since your such an easy target.'._

"Hmm, not yet." The much younger looking goddess pouted her full cherry lips throwing him a narrow eyed look of suspicion. "Are you planning on giving me that back?" Persephone asked pointing at the purple clipboard in his long blue bony fingers.

"What? This. _Nah.._ It's clocking off time for you my _sweet_." The way he put heavy emphasis and elongated the last word made a small shiver run down Persephone's spine, it wasn't unpleasant but made her heart flutter in a manner that she couldn't quite put into words. "It's party time. The yutz in flyin' sandals will be here for ya any minute." Hades shook his head wearily at the fact she had forgotten about the Harvest Moon Festival even after he had reminded her that very morning.

"_Oh my days! What?_ Is it really that late? I gotta get ready!" Her green eyes widened comically and without another word the tiny blonde goddess was about to vanish out in a swirl of bright orbs when a large pale blue hand rested on her shoulder.

"Hold on, before you go I have somethin' for ya." Hades said making Persephone turn her head curiously as he removed his hand making her shoulder feel strangely tingly, like it missed his touch. The hand that had been on her shoulder moments before dipped into the front of his black toga and produced a clip note of drachma bills which he promptly offered to her. "Here, it's an advance on your wages. I figured you might want some spendin' cash."

"Wages?" Persephone queried looking at him in some bemusement. "I figured this was gonna be like an internship or something, you don't have to pay me." She smiled sweetly at him not taking the clip of notes from him as she had never worked for money before, she was happy just to get the experience.

"Hey, you do a good job and this is only fair so just take it and don't kvetch." The Lord of Dead added more insistently then pushed the clip of notes into her small delicate hands. "Now go get changed Hermes will be here in less than a few seconds.."

"Oh gosh, your right." Persephone gasped shoving the clip of notes down her ample cleavage before pushing herself up onto the balls of her feet and kissing his blue angular cheek. "Thanks Hades."

"Hehe, go on, get outta here.." Hades grinned as she vanished out into white orbs and his friendly smile dropped now he was alone again. He immediately noticed the glow of the phoenix feather pen she had dropped and snapped his fingers making it vanish in a curl of smoke and reappeared between the large thumb and index finger of his free hand. "Oy, I swear she's no concept of time." He exhaled heavily and attached the pen to the purple clipboard before it too vanished into a puff of black smoke. Her tardiness should really be annoying him more than it did but he just found it amusing and teasing her about it was fun. She was here voluntarily, she was the best company he had had in eons and she did the job well so he could overlook her lax timekeeping. Since the majority of the days work was done Hades' plan had been to spend this evening holed up in his office mulling over paperwork. The imps should be getting ready for the next quarterly review which would be taking place tomorrow and with his own failed coop resulting in more casualties than he had first realised he knew the numbers should be larger than normal. It was a small consultation prize to actually have increased business for one season..

"Hey H-Man, is she ready t'go?" This voice had brought the fiery god out of his musings making him look up to see Hermes fluttering there with that vapid idiotic grin on his round cheeked face.

"She just started gettin' ready.." Hades responded coolly, his face expressionless as he mentally forced down the urge to smite this flying blue nuisance into the Styx, he was here to escort Persephone to the Harvest Moon Festival.

"Seriously?" The tiny blue god blinked in amazement then it unfortunately became clear he wasn't alone as another voice came out of a disembodied puff of violet coloured cloud that reeked of god grooming products.

"This surprises you Hermes, he obviously wanted his fill of her." Narcissus exhaled looking breifly somewhat put upon looking up from his red mirror before flashing a playful smirk at the sudden orange flamed flare up on the suddenly ticked off Hades' face.

"_I never touched her ya little putz—_" The fiery god had been about to summon a fireball and blast the insolent God of Self-Obsession clean off of his docks, he had been waiting for an excuse ever since the last time this moron had waltzed in here acting like a jerk.

"Whoa, _whoa!_" Hermes exclaimed flashing Narcissus a breif scowl. "He was just tryin' to getta rise outta you.." The tiny blue god then leaned in with a devious smile adding in a lower tone. "Don't dignify him with a response, drives him insane, sounds kooky I know but trust me." This made the fiery god suddenly turn blue once more, this was definitely a surprise.

"Don't fret, I'll help Seph get ready. You stay here and fill boo boo in on the rumours, kay?" Narcissus drawled casually ignoring the whispers between the two blue deities as he checked himself out in his red mirror, vanishing out in a perfumed violet cloud.

"Again with the boo boo!" Hades exclaimed in a breif moment of shock, instantly forgetting he was supposed to be ignoring the chiselled good looking god before his flaming head suddenly snapped around and he yanked the much smaller floating blue god towards his glowing orange complexion and flames. As his rage seethed the flames spread, curling around his shoulders as he glared hard into Hermes' violet eyes hidden behind those rose tinted specs. "_What_ rumours.." His voice came out low and dangerous and immediately a sheepish grin twisted over the nervous Messenger God's face..

* * *

Deep in the groves of Mount Tmolos was where Satayrville had been founded. This had been a place the green-skinned Goddess of Nature's loyal minions had settled after their founding father Pan had beaten Apollo in a music battle, in fact his descendant the current King Pan was still in charge now. Both satyrs and nymphs always congregated at the time to celebrate celebrate the grace and bounty of their beloved Mother Nature. It had become widely known as the Harvest Moon Festival and was the highlight of the nymph and satyr calendar, all the creatures of nature flocked to it. Although Demeter herself rarely came her daughter Persephone always honoured them with her presence and they always made sure she was treated like a fully fledged goddess and royalty she should have been by now.

"Where are they?" The annoyed high voice of the small green haired naiad with pale minty skin rung out. Her pink lips curled into a pout of annoyance as he folded her lithe arms across her willowy chest. She was dressed in a pretty white dress and her hair was done up in a neat bun with a few small white flowers woven in. Behind them the far off stage had an enormous crowd of satyrs, nymphs and other nature sprites.

"They'll be here Minthe, don't worry. Seph's probably just running late, wouldn't be the first time." Cyane giggled lightly, the blue haired naiad's words making her green haired friend roll her deep blue eyes in some irritation.

"But the bands are about to go on the main stage!" Minthe squealed in irritation. "We need her to get us a great spot or we'll be stuck out here unable to see the bands.."

"We would still hear the music fine even if we were out here, it wouldn't be a complete loss." Cyane said trying to put a positive spin on it like she always did. "You don't even like Tityroi and they're the opening act."

"It's not the point!" The pretty green haired nymph had started to retort when a swirl of white orbs appeared out of nowhere making both naiads turn and look. Minthe's face was a picture of surprise as Cyane grinned brightly at the arrival of their friends.

"Wow, colour me one impressed god Seph, your powers have really improved." Hermes was saying as the three gods materialised in front of the two lithe naiads. The moment Persephone's feet touched the surface soil her aura, that had been glowing star bright in the Underworld receded back into the ghostly almost non-existing glow it had been before she left. In fact the goddess even felt weaker than she had in the subterranean realm, what was that all about? She didn't understand it, it made no sense.

"Wow, Persephone I love your new outfit." Cyane's gushing of the new black, floor length strapless chiton she was wearing that was held in place by her neon pink pomegranate pin. Narcissus had made it at her request for her as she wanted to look the part while she downstairs in the big basement and this was it's first outing. The tiny place blue naiad felt the long flowing material of her skirt. "It's so soft, what's it made from?" She added in wonderment.

"Silk, imported from Egypt. Ra is a friend of mine." Narcissus drawled pulling out his red mirror, fluffing his quaff of white hair before summoning a matching red comb and quickly taking a few stray hairs. "I have to say Persephone that you managed to get me here with minimal damage to my hair, not many god's can do that. Bravo sister." He added making the mirror and comb vanish now taking in his masterwork and viewing how the youthful goddess looked in the daylight, her long golden tresses shining in the sun once more. Her minimal makeup look consisted of a shimmery smokey grey eyes and black kohl eyeliner with a small flick, her lips were painted in her signature cherry coloured lip paint and her nails were now a deep purple colour.

"Is Hades treating you well?" Cyane asked her best friend while combing her watery blue tresses with her fingers and this made one eyebrow quirk on Minthe's brow, her arms once more folded across her minimal bosom.

"Sure. As well as can be expected, I suppose." Persephone responded unsure what kind of answer she was meant to give. He wasn't mistreating her and while they where getting on professionally and she was trying to be his friend she still felt as though he was not being as open with her as she was with him.

"Your not sleeping with him, are you?" Minthe's sudden question made the youthful goddess blink in shock at the naiad's forwardness, hardly missing the harsh look her friend was giving her, almost as if there was some distaste with the idea.

"What? No, of course not. Don't believe any of those stupid rumours if you hear them. I'm not like that.." Persephone frowned closing her eyes breifly in mild irritation before opening them again. She should have known that those stupid rumours would've worked their way around the saytar and nymph community by now. "We're just friends, well, sort of friends anyway. It's complicated. He's a complicated god, ok?"

"Yeh, the H-Man is definitely a hard one to get t'know but he digs ya, I can tell.." Hermes chimed in cheerily flashing his best friend a grin. Hades hadn't seen her new look yet but he knew that one look at Persephone now would be enough to make him combust.

"Can we please go in now, I did not fabulise myself so that I would _not_ get noticed.." Narcissus drawled in a fed up tone, he did not come here to stand outside of the festival and talk about the Lord of the Dead.

"Narcy is right, let's go inside and get a good spot near the stage." Persephone added in agreement happy that the God of Self-Obsession had brought attention away from Hades though Minthe looked as if she were not done asking questions about him.

"Way ahead of you babe, I got us passes." Hermes declared pulling four V.I.P passes out and allowing the others to take theirs before clipping his on. "Heh, I got beseeched by a couple of guys on the rodeo team while they were travelling here, ain't that too nutty."

"Well in that case the first round is on me guys and this year, I'm paying." Persephone declared pulling out the clip note of bills that Hades had given her earlier.

"Woah! Hades pays his interns?" Hermes did a double take as the group moved into the festival together. "Man, I interned with the wrong god and Hades offered me a job at the time but I turned him down." He shook his head roughly wondering if perhaps he had been too hasty, though Olympus had dazzled him at the time, he could hardly turn Zeus down. Though sometimes he wondered what his life might have been like on the other side.

"Really? What kind of job?" Persephone asked curiously walking beside him.

"A psycopomp gig. Guiding souls down to the Underworld, truth be told if he asked me now I could probably squeeze a few shifts in here and there. _Buuut_ I think he's still kinda sore I said no the first time round." The blue god responded with a slight sigh.

"Can we talk about something less gloomy than the Underworld?" Narcissus who had been leading the group suddenly cut in with a haughty tone and a slight frown, now well and truly sick of hearing his name.

"Yeh, that place kinda creeps me out. No offence Seph." Cyane responded as they approached the makeshift bar run by a couple satyrs.

"Ok but then you guys will just have to catch me up with what's going on up here cause I'll have nothing to talk about." Persephone said looking keen for any kind of gossip they had to share that did not have anything to do with her. "What's everybody's poison?" She added as she lent against the bar top not having to wait long to be served as the bar-satyr came over immediately. she had always chalked this up to being Demeter's daughter, not because she had any value herself..

* * *

The satyr pipe band Tityroi was pretty much as Persephone and her friends expected, a little dull for their tastes but the nature dwellers of Sytarville got a real kick out of it. A few local reels, a country jig or two then the Sirens came out and performed their dazzling set making the crowds go wild. Just when everyone was mellowing out, the sky was starting to get dark the crowds were given a surprise performance by Orpheus. This delighted Cyane who was a big fan of Orpheus' music and the small pale blue skinned naiad with deep watery blue hair shook her hips making the skirt of her loose canary yellow chiton dance as she did.

"I _love_ this one.." She spoke loudly over the volume of the music playing to Hermes who was her dance partner at this moment.

"Yeh, he wrote it about his girl Eurydice, she's a friend of mine." The blue god responded brightly then the two twirled together enjoying themselves. A little way away Narcissus was once more preening himself in his red mirror barely even noticing that his chiselled good looks and gorgeous body had attracted a small cluster of young nymphlettes who were cooing like lovestruck cherubs over him.

Both Persephone and Minthe had giggled at the ridiculousness of the whole situation, these girls clearly didn't realise that the only one Narcissus had eyes for was himself. After a moment the two friends fell into silence before the pretty green nymph broke it. They had retreated for a seat after dancing to most of the Siren's set with Hermes and Narcissus.

"So, your not dating Hades, right?" Minthe's dark blue eyes threw her friend a slightly uncertain look, though Persephone couldn't figure out why that would bother her so much. "Only we're friends right. So you would tell me if you were.." She added privately hoping that the youthful goddess wasn't dating him.

"No, I'm not dating him. I'm just helping him out this winter, like an internship kind of thing." The white skinned goddess responded with a reassuring smile. "I don't think he thinks of me like that, just ignore Hermes. It's probably him just winding me up."

"Oh. Good.." Minthe sighed in relief and this made Persephone blink in surprise.

"Wait? Do you like him? Is that why this is bugging you so much?" The blonde goddess asked her and the small green naiad suddenly shook before jumping to her feet.

"Yes but he doesn't know I exist or he doesn't care." Minthe exclaimed wiping away some small tears. "I've tried to get his attention but he doesn't take me seriously and you, some _no-nothing goddess _gets to spend every day with him. What makes you so _darn special!_" She screeched these last words towards the blonde goddess shocking her completely and drawing the attention of Cyane and Hermes. Even Narcissus lowered his mirror in shock, looking bemused.

"Minthe.. I had no idea you—" Persephone started looking concerned, reaching a hand out wanting to console her friend but found it slapped away and feeling instantly hurt and rejected by her.

"_Don't touch me! _You _don't_ deserve him, your just some second-rate goddess who can't find a purpose of your own so you have to mooch off him!" Minthe screeched out before she vanished in a small flurry of plant leaves and a sweet smell.

"Minthe... I... I'm so sorry." Persephone found herself trembling with a horrible, devastating weight of despair filling her heart. She had no idea that her friend had such a deep infatuation with the Lord of the Dead before. She had never said. The fact that she had been spending so much time with him coupled with the fact that Minthe had refused to visit her now made sense. She was jealous and it sounded as if she meant those hurtful things she said..

"Persephone! You ok?" Cyane rushed to her side gripping her around the shoulders in a warm embrace.

"What a rude little nymph, if she comes back I'm so gonna give her a piece of my mind." Narcissus was venting his own annoyance, his violet aura glowing brightly. The youthful looking goddess barely acknowledged her friends voices as she tried to process what had just happened with Minthe, the two of them had never had a fight like this before. Sure, they had their disagreements before but never one like this and it came so out of the blue.

"Hermes, c-could you take me back to the Underworld please? I think I've had enough fun for one night.." The youthful white skinned goddess said in a soft voice turning to the blue god that was kneeling on the opposite side of her to Cyane.

"You sure you wanna let a little fight ruin your night?" The Messenger God asked in concern and Persephone nodded with a glum expression.

"You shouldn't worry about Minthe, she's rude to all of us. Hopefully she'll come around soon and apologise." Cyane said softly with a smile.

"Well she ain't rude to me!" Hermes scowled looking affronted, if he was spoken to like that by any nymph or satyr he would be sure to respond with divine retribution.

"And she wouldn't dare be rude to me, I would turn her into a mess so fast..." Narcissus drawled with a flourish of his wrist, snapping of his fingers as a devious smirk curved his handsome face.

"Exactly. She wouldn't dare be rude to either of you, you guys have status but Persephone doesn't. A god without status doesn't strike the same level of fear or respect. If your angered it's an Affront to the Gods and you have the right to smite but she doesn't have that same protection because technically she isn't a legit goddess." Cyane explained to the two immortal gods both softened their scowls into looks of pity. It had never occurred to either of them that this loophole existed and that technically Minthe wasn't entitled to be smote for her undermining actions.

"C'mon then Seph, I'll drop you off with Charon, maybe the boat ride in will give you enough time to pull yourself together." Hermes drawled And Cyane hugged her best friend goodbye before backing off. "Last thing we need is Hades seein' you looking down and depressed."

"Your coming right back, right Hermes?" Cyane asked the Messenger God hopefully with a hand on his shoulder.

"Sure thing Cya, don't you fret." The small blue god responded with a smile to his nymph friend. "I promised you a lift home when Orpheus finishes his set and I meant it. Hey Narcy, keep an eye on her while I drop off Seph, will ya?"

"Sure, why not?" Narcissus responded before turning to Cyane as Hermes vanished off with Persephone in tow. "Can I get you a drink? I'm parched."

* * *

"_Unbelievable.. Just unbelievable__..._" The yellow flamed Lord of the Dead tailed off into further mutterings of irritableness to himself, the rumours Hermes had coughed up about himself and Persephone were still burning his flames. He didn't care about rumours on himself flying around but she didn't deserve to have them flying around about her. Especially when he wasn't even laying a finger on her like they were suggesting. Thankfully Hermes has made sure they didn't reach Zeus' ears, he was probably still steamed up over what happened with Hercules that he would come bursting in here bolts blazing and he had only just finished repairing the throne room from Jerkules busting in.

A glass of water materialised out of a puff of black smoke and Hades immediately threw its contents on his face making his flaming hair sizzle before sighing as they dimmed then flared back blue. He really needed to get out of this office and get his head together or he would never get through this paperwork. Maybe he should go and check out Persephone's handiwork in the Pool of Lethe, she had finished it days ago and had been bugging him to go and see it when he found a moment. Clearly she was dying for his seal of approval but he had not found a moment to go and inspect it.

Now was as good a time as any...

...Whatever Hades had been expecting to find when he descended the stairs out of the rear of his large skull-shaped home was nothing compared to what he saw. Behind was the half a skull head with two large circular west facing windows embedded into carved rock, which the stairs descended from. The first real thing that Hades took in were the trees that now towered around the pool. The Fall of Lethe was framed by two morose looking weeping willow trees with their pale greyish-pink blooms. There were bent and twisted cypress trees and black poplar trees growing around the Pool itself. When he finally stepped down from the last stair he could finally take in the full eeiry beauty of the place. Ghostly asphodels and small navy blue star shaped flowers with glowing centres of phosphorous light grew, twinkling in the dark. The usual smell of brimstone was covered by the pungent smell of herbs and gentle flowers. Unsurprisingly there were pomegranate bushes growing too, he had learnt quickly that this was her favourite thing to eat. Persephone had removed the diving board and got rid of the beach furniture, replacing it with heavy looking stone garden furniture. At first Hades had wondered where she had gotten the petty cash for this before looking closer and seeing that she had in fact fashioned the furniture with the dismantled diving board and beach furniture. Now that was clever! He noticed that his amphora collection for collecting Lethe water and his huge barbecue set were still present and untouched, he had forgotten to mention them but was pleased she had had the sense to leave them be.

He was just wondering what time he could expect her back from the Harvest Moon Festival when the sound of girlish sobbing caught his attention. His round yellow eyes rolled, as his expression dropped in minor disdain. It wasn't uncommon for souls that crawled out of the Pool of Lethe to weep for their lost memories, especially if they were females, so he followed the sound intending to shove the soul away towards the Asphodel Fields. The last thing he wanted was Persephone to come back and think he had a new pool cleaner. The fiery god had been making a conscious effort hide all the souls from Lethe in with the confused souls in the flowery fields of asphodels so she wouldn't have to find them. Even now he still had no idea what sort of transition the Underworld was preparing them for but he knew Persephone was right. There was obviously some step that was being missed. Since his last, best shot at conquering Olympus was a bust he should probably focus more on improving things in his home-realm. _Isn't that what good rulers did? Make things better for their people_, _even if they were dead people.. _He said it often enough to the souls in his charge but perhaps it was time he took his own advice and stopped focusing on up there and started focusing on down here. It was time to schedule an appointment with the Fates and see if they could 'help' him figure out just what was lacking down here. Using the term loosely, of course and hoping they wouldn't just lead him on another merry dance for their own amusement.. _First things first, deal with the sobbing soul._

After following the noise of soft crying Hades' large yellow eyes widened into complete disbelief when he found the source of the dispondant sobbing, it wasn't a soul, it was Persephone! He felt this strange heavy feeling in his chest at the sight of her looking so wretched. Her incredibly long blonde hair was covering her completely while her fingers were ensnared in it at the place where her forehead was. She was hunched over in a ball revealing most of her bare back while she at on another refurbished garden bench.

He felt bad for her. _Wait, when did that start happening? _Hades was somewhat confused by the realisation that he had empathy for others, or maybe it was just for her because he understood how it felt to be an outsider. Either way he silently moved forward and sat down on the stone bench next to her.

"Persephone.. Whatcha doin' out here in the cold of night?" His voice came out in a low, soft exhale and the sound of it made the tiny white skinned goddess raise her head, her button nose poking through her curtain of blonde hair making it part just enough to reveal her watery green eyes and tear stained eye makeup.

Persephone gave a small sigh.

"Contemplating my worthless existence." She mumbled in a choked voice as her green eyes lowered once more to the ground and she bowed her head once more. These words made Hades blink in utter disbelief before he flared momentarily yellow as his skin burned a vengeful red. _She thought she was worthless? How in the cosmos could she possibly think that?_ He wouldn't get the answer burning in fury so he immediately exhaled switching back to his usual calm blue then turning back to the youthful goddess.

"Alright, c'mon, who's been upsettin' ya? Tell Uncle Hades all about it.." The blue flamed god uttered gently, scooping up the tiny frame of Persephone who was very lightweight and sitting her on his lap. He then pushed her thick head of bright blonde hair out of her face, wiped her tears with his fingers smearing her black eyeliner then produced a light grey handkerchief from the pocket of his black toga offering it to her.

"It doesn't matter.." Persephone spoke in a soft tone accepting the handkerchief and blowing in it before scrunching it in a ball between her hands.

"Hey, if it matters to you it matters t'me so let's hear it already. Do I have t'smite someone for ya or what?" Hades blinked throwing her a concerned look, the hand that wasn't resting against her lower back giving support appeared in front of her, a fireball appearing in his fingertips. The bright ball of fire lit up the dark Pool of Lethe making Persephone's still watery eyes widen before the pale blue skinned god snuffed the fireball out.

"Oh n-no, you don't have to do that.." The youthful goddess shook her head swiftly making her long blonde hair swish. "The Affront to the God's decree doesn't cover me, I'm not entitled to it."

"Excuse me?" Hades queried looking somewhat mistified by this then scowling at her. "_Correct_ _me_ if I am _wrong_ but you _are_ a goddess and someone has _obviously_ upset you?"

"Yes but that decree only applies to gods with status, which I don't have—" Persephone began but Hades cut her off still looking unconvinced by her words.

"Hold up, are ya sure that's what it says? I've gotta copy of it in my office somewhere, we can check." Hades immediately vanished out into a huge billow of black smoke with the youthful goddess in tow determined to prove her wrong as this didn't seem right to him..

* * *

Persephone found herself dumped unceremoniously into his huge black bony swivel seat which was surprisingly comfortable. Once she had straightened herself in it her green eyes watched him in some concern as he rooted the shelves of scrolls hunting down the decree he was looking for before making a noise of satisfaction when he found it unfurling it with a smile.

"Here we go.. Uh... 'Nuh-nuh-nuh.. Gods who find themselves undermined or insulted by patrons and or insignificant others have the right to blah-blah-blah... provided the incident happens _inside their domain or city state_!'" This last part made Hades snarl out in frustration, his hair yellowing once more as his skin tinged orange and he glared at the offending decree skimming over Zeus' signature and his title memo at the end not bothering to read it aloud. "Well that tears it.." He grumbled rolling the scroll back up and shoving it back onto the shelf it had come from pouting irritably, trying to think of a way to get Persephone out of this jam.

"Hades, I appreciate the sympathy but I just had a fall out with my friend Mint—" The youthful goddess' green eyes widened as a long bony blue finger pushed against her cherry lips stopping her from finishing her explanation.

"Now, now, we'll get to the details later. I just need to figure out how I can get around this decree while your here.." He then tailed off, his large black pupils receded before his blue flames grew and brightened to an almost blinding white as an idea came to him. "_That's it!_" Hades declared brightly, his bright flames expanding into an eruption of euphoria before receding to normal as he grabbed a scroll and a bony pen from the holder on his desk.

"What's it?" Persephone blinked confused not following his logic but finding herself suitably impressed by his fiery display of excitement wondering just what it was he was planning now.

"While your down here your under _my_ care and my rule, that means if _I_ decree that anyone who insults you insults me and that, toots, makes it an Affront to the Gods and therefore, a _smitable_ _offence_.. Hehehe, and trust me, _nobody_ comes out alive after I'm through with 'em.." He chuckled darkly as he scrawled this new Underworld decree. '-signed Hades, Lord of the Dead, Punisher of the Dammed and Keeper of the keys to Tartarus.." He mumbled out loud to himself before rolling up the scroll. "_HERMES!_"

With only enough time for the Underworld to shake and his loud bellow to rebererate off the stony walls the tiny blue Messenger God appeared out of a neon burst.

"Wow, Hades it's super late.. This better be important man." The blue god grumped floating in his winged sandals and off-white night chiton complete with night cap. He had obviously been in bed or getting ready for bed when the blue god had bellowed for him.

"Take this and file it under Underworld Laws, I want it in effect immediately." Hades shoves the scroll towards Hermes who was also the Council Scribe at meetings of the Council of Twelve and had access to the Hall of Decrees.

"Can't this wait until morning big guy?" Hermes yawned heavily so tired that he didn't even notice his best friend curled up in the enormous black bony swivel chair behind the hulking great stone desk by him.

"No, I want it done _now.._" Hades flared breifly orange with yellow flames at the last word making the blue god wince a little knowing that the fiery god was not in his best mood and it was best not to test him further.

"Ok, ok.. No need for the pyro-dramatics I've gotcha covered babe. Anything else you want don't call me until morning, gotit?" Hermes drawled in a tired voice waving him off then vanishing back out in a neon blur wanting to do this quickly and get back to bed.

"Fine, whatever.. Didn't want you for anythin' else anyway ya yutz.." The fiery god muttered under his breath, rolling his large yellow eyes before turning to Persephone who looked as if she was still trying to process what had just happened in the last few minutes. He moved around the desk enjoying her stunned expression. "Gotcha speechless, huh? Does that mean your feelin' better about yourself?" He drawled with a wide smile, doing something nice for her actually made him feel good. _Who knew?_

"You didn't have to do that for me.." Persephone finally responded in a soft voice feeling a rush of affection for the gesture he had just made for her. Nobody had ever done anything like this for her before.

"Ah, it's nothin' besides I know what it's like to get no respect and how low it makes ya feel. How do ya think I got started on the whole Olympus takeover bit, hm?" The Lord of the Dead replied in a lazy drawl before adding with a small smirk, "And for what it's worth I don't think your existence is worthless. Without you I would probably still be churnin' around the ol' Pool of Lethe.." He added then gasped out in shock when the tiny blonde goddess threw herself into his arms embracing him in a warm hug. A happy smile curving her cherry lips as she closed her eyes feeling a single tear of joy fall.

"Thank you, that means a lot.." She sighed in a soft voice nuzzling his chest feeling instantly better about herself and feeling very comfortable in his warm body heat taking in his scent. He smelt faintly of sulphur but it was overpowered by this spicy, woody aftershave and she felt surprisingly safe in his arms.

"Ah, c'mon now. Heh, your makin' me look soft. I gotta rep t'keep here.." The fiery god muttered pulling her back out of his chest with some mild remorse as her smaller frame and slight weight against him felt very nice. "Besides, it's gettin' late and I have a desk of paperwork to sort through before I turn in."

"Ok, I can take a hint. I'll see you tomorrow then." Persephone said her girly smile once more as she pulled herself out from behind his desk and moved over to the stone door leading out to the hallway.

"On _time_ for once would be nice." Hades added with a hint of a playful but still stern tone, the smirk still on his face as he seated himself back behind his desk and picked up the first scroll laying in front of him.

"I'll try my best." The youthful goddess replied privately thinking, _'No promises.'_. She then opened the door and stepped out about to shut it again when Hades spoke again.

"Oh and Seph.." The fiery god narrowed his eyes to her. "Lookin' good, nice dress."

"Night Hades.." She shook her head still smiling and closed the door, heading towards the private quarters with a slight hint of giddiness in her step.

"Night.." Hades exhaled slowly once the door was shut slouching back in his seat with a faint smile still curving his full blue lips but the moment he became consciously aware it was there it vanished and he straightened as his eyes returned to his scroll. _Wake up and smell the asphodels, a goddess like her will never be interested in a god like me.. Get real._

_**Little Notes: Hey guys, good news is that this is the longest chapter to date. There was just too much going on in this chapter for it not to be this long and I wanted to make it up to the readers that tuned in on the Tuesdays that I didn't update on and were disappointed to find no update. I'm sorry about that but I am going to be making a conscious effort to try and upload on Tuesdays again and hopefully not disappoint all my silent followers.. Also, you all know I have a no pressure approach to follows, alerts and reviews. Much like Disney's Hades I follow the numbers more closely on my stats page and I like what I'm seeing. So much so that I am considering a one shot story involving Hades and Jafar when I reach 50 reviews, there is no pressure for reviews this idea has no plot at the moment because it is still in the early stages of development and I would love to do something with the villain kids again. Maybe even a story with Thanatos with the Herc series crew might be fun. I kind miss writing them, again another idea for a different milestone and open to suggestions.. We'll see but I want to give something back to my loyal readers whether they are known or not..**_

_**Anyway, S.Y.N.T**_

_**A~Teal**_


	11. Rumour Has It

**_Plight of Persephone_**

_Ok people, you know the score, I do not own Hercules, Disney does and even though they have not issued plans for a live action redo, give it time. Everything else seems to be getting the treatment so I wouldn't be shocked if it happened. And since Disney aren't entertaining the idea of a remake, I decided I would. Don't worry, you do not need to have read any of my other stories to read this one and the original is NOT going anywhere, it stays here where it belongs.. I do own this version of Persephone and all other original characters and places that come up, permission and advice is always given to those who want to use them but do tell me if you use my characters so I may view and comment on your work.. Just like the original I will be basing this story around Greek myths and twisting them around just like Disney did, I will also be reworking some of the original plot lines.. Please review and let me know your thoughts.. Thank you for your time. Enjoy! X_

* * *

**_Reviews:_**

**_Sharkeygirl: Hades isn't aware of Persephone has a deep infactuation with him yet, he is still struggling with his own feelings and the fact that he thinks she wouldn't look twice at him.. X_**

**_zerodarkwolf: (chap1) I'm pleased you have enjoyed my other works, you'll have to let me know what you think of this one when you catch up ; ) X_**

**_zsofius: Don't worry about responding so late, like I've said before there's no pressure for reviews. As an adult I understand how hectic life can get. I'm glad you like the story structure, it's going to be a slow developing relationship between the two. I feel that after everything with Hercules Hades would probably be struggling with his final defeat, where to go from there and on some level who he is as a god. It seemed the more logical reaction since in the movie he put 20 years into this plan and he ultimately failed. I imagine he was really banking on it working like it was his one and only real shot at taking Olympus and finally shutting his older brother up. And Persephone isn't really a teenager, she just perpetually looks like one (much like Cupid in the series is a full grown god with a baby body), it's just where she stopped growing. Hermes, Narcissus and Persephone are all in the same age bracket, born after the Titan War and punishment of Prometheus when Mount Olympus and Greece was in its infancy. They're all at least a couple of milenia old but are still probably about a tenth of the original six's age. Persephone is kind of the forgotten goddess because her mother has been raising her in the surface realm away from Olympus so Zeus has never gotten around to issuing her with a real purpose. She's grown frustrated and bored with her nymph-like life and wants to find her true purpose in the cosmos X_**

**_A Strawberry: In answer to your question about the original P.o.P story, this title is not changing. I have titled my stories in the same manner Disney has titled the remakes of their films, hence why the new one has this years date at the end: i.e the year of release. I'm glad you are enjoying the new version, I've always felt the characters were a bit flat and I wanted to develop them further. I also feel that the film left a lot of door open to explore the consequences to both Hercules' and Hades' actions which is what this story will be about X_**

* * *

_A/N: There is currently a poll on my profile page with four choices for what the 50 review milestone one-shot will be about.. Please vote for what you want the one-shot to be about (2 votes max) and don't forget, every review pushes me a little closer to the result. Poll closes at the 50th review.. May reopen again when I'm close to 100.. Happy reading! X_

* * *

**_Chapter Eleven: Rumour Has It.._**

"What could that _miserable-flamed moron_ want now?" Hecate muttered scowling at the offending scroll with black ribbon tie and skull-shaped clip holding the roll neatly together now in her hands. It had appeared to her out of a puff of smoke seconds earlier, whatever Hades wanted he obviously didn't consider it important enough to tell her in person, not that he would ever consider anything that important.

"Ooh, must be important.." Canis chipped in with a smirk.

"Yeh, important to him.." Lupus added and both wolves snickered in amusement.

"_Oh_." Hecate made a noise of surprise unfurling the scroll that she thought was going to be a job summons, usually something boring involving tracking wayward souls that had got lost on the surface. She never got anything exciting from Hades but this one peeked her interest. "Now _this_ we can work with."

"What is it?" Lupus asked curiously.

"Clearly not another soul hunt, that's for sure." Canis chipped in with a grin.

"No. This is a new decree." Hecate responded scrunching up the papyrus scroll and burning it in the blue flame of her long spindally black torch. "Ol' Flamehead must be getting mushy, he's decreed that anyone who offends Persephone will offend him, that will give her the protection of the Affront to the Gods decree."

"She didn't have that before." Canis replied cocking his head in some confusion.

"How exactly does this help you with your plan?" Lupus asked cocking his head in the opposite direction of his brother.

"It doesn't, not directly anyway just proves that Hades' feelings towards her run deep. The rumours don't seem to be getting inside Olympus, I thought that twit Narcissus would have spread them considering Echo still has that stupid infactuation, he must be better friends with Persephone than I thought." Hecate grumbled grinding her teeth irritably. That pint-sized pest Persephone unwittingly had loyal friends in high places.

"We could turn our rumours onto the mortals.." One of the identical wolf brothers with large feathery wings spoke up.

"Oh. Now that could work." His brother chipped in, both wolves throwing the immortal witch a sharp-toothed leer. "Mortals are so easy to manipulate."

"And if it's serious enough that will get the attention of Hercules, Zeus' mortal son." Hecate uttered as she tapped her sharp pointed chin, a nasty smirk curving her lips. He was the most famous guy in Greece right now, his fame had really blown up during her time away in Egypt. At first she didn't understand why but Demeter's story made sense. Fighting off a variety of monsters, including the Titans and defeating Hades himself would propel anyone to stardom but still didn't explain why Persephone would venture down into the Underworld now after everything that had happened.

"Ooh. God thinking." Canis chipped in.

"That guy will come running down here for any sob story, look how many times he thwarted you." Lupus chipped in making his identical brother nod his head.

"Yes, I _know_." A thin line formed her mouth as her fists balled in repressed fury. She had left for Egypt not only to visit her mother and old friends but to also collect her thoughts after the humiliating defeats at the hands of that teenage twerp. But now she was back and ready to exact revenge, especially now since Hades wouldn't have the same backing from the Olympians he once had.

"Spin the right story and Hercules will be putty in your hands." The grey furred wolf next to him added and the Goddess of Witchcraft's displeasure brightened. Of course, this was a weakness that she could exploit. But it would have to be a truly, horrific rumour to get this hero to go back inside the Underworld and this kind of story would also get Hades into some serious hot water. A diabolical smirk twisted her this purple lips as Hecate grabbed the long spindaly black handle of her torch and headed for the exit of her grotto. It would not take her too long to locate Echo and give her the change in plan, the disembodied voice could only be found in a few places underneath the surface. This was going to be _fun! _

* * *

The Lord of the Dead had gone to bed incredibly late and risen again only a few hours later to start the day incredibly early. This was nothing new, with business increasing steadily and his workload growing it was always inevitable that his sleep schedule was disturbed. He could tell that the beginnings of sleep deprivation was already kicking in as despite his dire need for coffee he felt surprisingly upbeat considering the gruelling workload that awaited him. He was even whistling a jaunty tune as he descended the steps from his private quarters and turned through the empty throne room and down the hallway. Hades had always been the first to rise, always up and about long before Pain and Panic who never failed to make an appearance right before the mandatory morning meeting. Lamia's boys had never been early risers which the Lord of the Dead secretly viewed as a blessing in disguise, he was unsure if he could handle the dense duo before his morning coffee and breakfast ambrosia. As he passed his office door he stopped moving as it was ajar.

This was odd.

He was certain he had shut it before finally turning in that night. His curiosity peeked the blue flamed god moved towards the office door and looked inside. His desk was clear and neatly organised. This again was strange and made him rub his long angular chin with his long pale bony fingers as he frowned, he had definitely not filed any of the paperwork away last night. He had left that for Persephone to do whenever Miss Tardy bothered to grace him with her presence. Still, it didn't answer how his paperwork had managed to get up and file itself away.

**_Clink._**

This light noise which sounded like moving crockery instantly made Hades' flaming head turn back towards the doorway in curiosity. It seemed that he was not the only one up at this ungodly hour of the morning. The noise had come from his kitchen which was at the end of this hallway, right at the back of his large skull-shaped home. Leaving his office the blue flamed god headed quickly down towards it and once he appeared in the stone archway to the cavernous kitchen the identity of the mystery riser was revealed.

"_Oh_." Persephone blinked in shock at the sight of him before a small smile forced its way across her lips. "Morning." She added as her lithe fingers let go of the coffee grinder and moved to pick up the fallen white mug with a large 'H' on its side that he used every morning.

"Mornin' to you too cutie, whatcha doin' up this early?" Hades responded in a slightly more chipper voice than he would usually use before having his first coffee. The sleep deprivation was well and truly starting to show.

"I, _uh_, didn't sleep." The youthful looking goddess muttered softly twisting her fingers with an uneasy look on her beautiful face. "You want coffee, I ground the beans myself. It's an Italian blend from Sicily." She added trying to change the subject, that forced smile tightening her lips as she busied herself with straining the coffee for him. He had mentioned before how he couldn't function without a caffeine kick first thing in the morning which was why she had been prepping the beans before he came in, her elbow knocking over his coffee mug in the process.

"You still thinkin' about that tiff with your friend, huh?" The blue flamed god responded gently as he perched himself at the island breakfast nook and rested his elbow on the worktop and his fist against his angular cheek, his intense black pupils scrutinising the subtle changes in her facial expressions.

"Yeh, but I don't want to bore you with the details." Persephone sighed heavily and pushed a wayward strand of blonde out of her face before answering reluctantly as she strained the coffee through the material filter and into his cup.

"Hey, you won't be borin' me. Now c'mon, what's the skimmy with you and this nymph." The fiery god made a small beckoning hand guesture with one of his more friendlier smiles that still had an edge of a leer to it. "Thanks babe." He muttered when the youthful goddess passed him a cup of fresh brewed coffee.

"How'd you know she was a nymph?" Persephone blinked in amazement unable to figure out how in the cosmos he knew but continued to mix up the fresh batch of ambrosia she had been making before he arrived.

"You told me." Hades paused from taking his first sip to answer her then took his drink, making a breif noise of surprise and pleasure at the rich full-bodied taste, wondering vaguely who her supplier was as this tasted better than his usual stuff. His large yellow eyes following her as the white skinned beauty mixed up the fluffy pale food.

"I did?" The much younger goddess responded as she mixed with a wooden spoon, wracking her brains trying to remember but she had been such an emotional wreck at the time that she couldn't actually remember what she told him. Still, she was pretty sure she hadn't mentioned who had upset her.

"You didn't give me a name but I got enough to get the jist." The blue-flamed god responded airily. "I'm guessin' it wasn't the blue one that was here last time so it's who? The one you know as Spearmint?"

"How do you know about her?" Persephone blinked and her mouth fell open in further shock her hand stopped too and she set the wooden spoon down. She really needed to know how he got all his information. If she didn't know better she would've sworn he had been stalking her, unbeknown to her he actually had been watching her without consent. For protective purposes of course, he needed to know where she was at all times in case anything were to befall her, the Underworld was a treacherous place, especially to a goddess with no real status and not enough knowledge in her own abilities to defend herself if the unfortunate were to arise. At least, that was what Hades' mind reasoned was the point in constantly tracking her movements. His heart on the other hand, which only a year ago he would've sworn he didn't have, quickened with the giddy thrill of the simple act of watching her. There was something almost tangible about being so close with her, even when she was unaware of his presence, the fiery god didn't know how exactly to put his feelings into words because he had never truly experienced this before but being around Persephone actually made him, kind of, happy. Something he had not really felt much of in his long enduring existence. Had he ever been truly happy before? He didn't know the answer to that..

"You and your chums were yakkin' 'bout her when I came upon ya lookin' cozy around the Pool of Lethe a couple of weeks back." Hades drawled simply, easily hiding his inner turmoil over his unbeknown feelings towards this sweet, beguiling creature before him. He was teasing her again. Oh, how he loved to see the way her pretty face twisted into shock at each revelation then twist into confusion as he masterfully covered his subtle admission of stalking by mental gymnastics, not lying, just distorting the truth enough to get out of any reprimand that might follow. He was a lot of things but the Lord of the Dead was not a liar, he always told the truth, or some version of it anyway.

"Oh." Persephone then blinked throwing him a curious look pausing from cutting the pomegranate she had summoned and was cutting as they spoke. "Wait, that was a couple weeks ago?"

"_Uh_, yeh. We're in late September, remember?" Hades responded and this seemed to amaze her, making her pause from prepping their breakfast ambrosia.

"Wow, your right. _Heh_, I have completely lost track, how do you tell time down here?" The youthful looking goddess asked curiously before pushing out the glistening ruby red pomegranate seeds so they scattered over the countertop along with the juice. She scooped them up quickly, dumping them into the ambrosia, then licking the juice off her dainty fingers with her pink slightly pointed tongue. Hades watched transfixed by this simple innocent act for a moment before roughly shaking to clear the thoughts that sprang to his mind.

"Ah, it ain't that hard. You just go by the tidal changes in the Styx. High tide is at noon and low tide at six pm. Runs like clockwork, it's real easy t'follow, I can run ya through it." Hades responded casually before realising the truth. "Wait. Hold up a second, you _really_ had no clue what time of day it has been since you got here? And here I was thinkin' you just liked showin' up late for your shifts just to mess with me." He twirled a hand to emphasise his point while flashing her a somewhat questioning look.

"Hehe.. No but maybe I will do that in future." Persephone flashed him a mischievous look that went with her playful smirk as she divided the ambrosia into small bowls and offered him one with a fork. She had been enjoying his reaction to her tardiness and the youthful goddess enjoyed teasing him. The fiery god's eyes rolled slightly in response to her words but he accepted his breakfast anyway.

"So, your still not gonna tell me what this nymph did, huh?" The Lord of the Dead asked conversationally deciding to steer the conversation back to their original topic and away from the dangerously close flirting banter they could've easily fallen into.

"No. I don't really want to think about it." Persephone replied as her expression darkened a little. "I can handle her myself."

"Ya ever asserted yourself to a lower being before?" Hades cocked an inquisitive brow then continued to eat his breakfast ambrosia aimiably. There was none of his usual choices in it but it tasted good, she had clearly taken cooking lessons from Hestia at some point in her long existence as everything she cooked tasted pretty good.

"Um, no. Not really.." The blonde goddess flashed him an uneasy look, pausing from eating her ambrosia. She had given Ares one of her home grown poisons to use on a boar so the god could get even with that Adonis guy for daring to attract the attention of Aphrodite before she was due to marry Hephaestus. Since it was her poison and it was her idea technically she engineered it while Ares carried out the plan, the brawn rather than the brain behind it. She chewed her breakfast slowly realising that she honestly wasn't sure how she should be dealing with Minthe, both Narcissus and Hermes wanted her to smite the naiad but she wasn't even sure how to go about that, or if she even could.

"Oh well, good. That's great. No one bothered to teach you about minion control. Ya can't be a true goddess without knowing how to act like one." The blue flamed god frowned, his hair flickering an irritated yellow. Why didn't it surprise him that unstinting Demeter wouldn't bother showing her how to control mouthy underlings, probably just expected her daughter to just come running to her every time.

"You want me to be petty and dishonest?" Persephone wrinkled her nose in disgust, pausing from eating once more. Her mother had warned her of how selfish and corrupt Olympus was, this was why she had raised her in the mortal realm, so she would not become corrupt and self-absorbed like them.

"Heh, no. I want you to be able to dispense your own justice." Hades responded seriously. "Tell ya what, I will also run ya through the basics of minion torture. Since I'm sucha nice guy an' all." He flashed her his most charming grin and pushing his now empty bowl away from him.

"Minion torture?" The younger goddess looked somewhat alarmed by his offer. "But I don't want to torture anyone."

"_Aw_, that's so _cute_. It's nice you live in storybook land where everyone just gets _along_ and holds each other's _hands_.." An ugly sneer marred Hades' long thin face as he regarded her with some derision now. His flames were once again flaring a ticked off yellow as his skin slowly graduated into an angry red like he could exploded in fury any second. His whole being shook when he spoke again, his voice slow and deliberate as he was fighting just to keep his temper under control. "Let me know when your ready to.. _WAKE UP!_"

He vanished out in a fuming tower of flames and black smoke, his booming voice still ringing after his departure leaving Persephone still feeling unsure and now somewhat upset by his angry and explosive response. She knew the world wasn't kind and she hadn't experienced the full harshness of it, her mother had always hid her from it. Her half-eaten breakfast was now abandoned as she sat contemplating what exactly it was Hades was offering to her. Ok, so minion torture made her uncomfortable, more because she knew Pain and Panic would most likely be her torture test dummies and they hadn't done anything to earn a smiting in her book but maybe this was the first step in introducing her to the darker aspects of his realm. Was she truly ready for that?

* * *

"Do you really think he likes her?" Panic whispered in a hushed voice to his partner as they set up the number chart on the stone easel in the empty boardroom. They had spent most of yesterday working on their presentation and now they were getting ready for their morning meeting with the boss. Everything had to be perfect or Hades would fry them both so they had repeatedly checked each other's work to the point that they were confident the numbers were right.

"Aw c'mon Panic, you've seen the way he moons over her. Of course he likes her." The rose pink imp rolled his beady yellow eyes moving an unruly flop of burgundy hair out of his face. "She gets away with everything." He added with a smile.

"Yeh, she totally does. But if he likes her so much why doesn't he just ask her out? Usually when he wants something he just goes out and gets it." The slim green imp blinked in confusion. In the millenniums they had known their boss he wasn't exactly the shy, retiring type. If he saw something he wanted he would try any means to get it and if he was denied or rejected he would try again. This was the first time they had not seen him act despite his desire being obvious enough for them to notice.

"Well it's not like he's just poppin' out t'buy smokes." Pain smirked wriggling his unibrow and flashing his twin a suave smirk. "Dating is more complicated than that."

"_Pfft_.. What would you know about it? You haven't been on a date in eons." The teal imp rolled his huge big eyes frowning in doubt, if Pain had ever gotten a date he would know about it. Mostly because his more heavy-set brother would want to brag about it to him and use it to try getting under his skin.

"Been on more dates than you." Pain retorted with a deep scowl.

"Oh yeh? With who?" Panic snapped back tossing down his presentation notes and looking ready to throw down with his chubbier twin.

"_Fascinating_ boys but I did not come here to hear scwabbling about your love lives, or lack of it." The sound of their lord and master's voice immediately both imp's eyes widened in shock and they turned to see Hades slouching with a somewhat already ticked off expression on his face. They were both instantly unnerved as usually it took more than this kind of minor arguing to get a flamed reaction from him, something had obviously sent him into a fowl mood before arriving.

"Oh, your infuriated-ness.." Pain began, grinning widely while throwing his best simpering look, secretly glad their boss hadn't come a few moments later realising they were actually talking about his love life.

"-we were just getting our presentation ready." Panic added in an anxious tone trying desperately to get his sudden hard breathing and quicker heart rate under control as he swiftly scooped up his notes and cowered nervously behind his brother's ample frame.

"Yeh, yeh, _yeh_. So hit me with some numbers already. I ain't got eternity. Well, actually I do but I don't want to spend it stuck here with you two." Hades frowned, sitting up straighter with his flaming hair remaining yellow as he gave both imps a deep scowl. "So, how is business? Did Miss Hearts and Orbs manage to pull you outta the fire or is it date night with one of my _old flames.._" His right lower arm immediately combust into flames as a nasty smile played about his lips, this was no empty threat. He meant to torture them if their numbers didn't match up with their quarterly targets.

"Well, you may not be ruling the cosmos but you'll be happy to know that the damage caused by your scheme with the Titans has sent our numbers into record highs." Panic began summoning a pointer and moving it across the summer numbers which jumped up towards the end of July when Hades was acting out his failed coop for Olympus.

"Yeh, mostly they're from farming settlements that the Titans flattened on their way to Olympus." Pain said before adding, "And that cyclops guy with the big eye destroyed an entire downtown plaza before Hercules put a stop to him."

"What's that dip in numbers?" Hades responded, hardly missing the downwards red line after the end of July and into the start of August.

"Eh-he. That _uh_, that's after Hercules punched you into the Vortex of Phlegethon." Panic tapped his sharp pointed fingers together with a nervous grin, his eyes darting unable to meet his master's strong gaze.

"Oh. Right." Hades' full blue lips twitched uncomfortably, not wanting to think about that, besides he had already punished them for their idleness in his absence. His flames had receded and returned to blue, the flames that had been engulfing his lower right arm extinguished. "Congratulations boys, you survived another quarterly review. Now, what _fun_ is in store for me today?" The fiery god rolled his eyes irritably.

"Don't you wanna know about the gift shop, Death 'No Stuff? We've had record sales in the new—"

"Nah, nah.. That's small potatoes, I only wanna focus on our _core_ business, dead people and since business is _anything_ but dead, people, let's run through the agenda for today." Hades drawled looking somewhat ticked off, tired of having to go through the same monotonous routine with these two every time. It didn't help that he was still reeling from his outburst with Persephone in the kitchen before manifesting here. He was feeling this strange hollow pit in his stomach, what was that? W-was this what guilt felt like? He wasn't sure, he had never really experienced guilt before. It seemed Persephone had brought with her a variety of new emotions for him to experience. He barely took in what the two imps were telling him about what meetings and trials he had scheduled for that day, he was just wondering what Persephone was doing with herself at this moment and if she was ok after his outburst of frustration..

* * *

_"Hear us 'Oh great mistress of the Underworld' we pray to you under the sacred bush you so gifted us with, we have awaited your arrival as foretold by the Fates—" _

"Knock it off..." Persephone uttered wiggling her finger in her ears, scrunching her pretty white-skinned face and quickly wiping away the tears and smearing her black kohl eyeliner. It had been a while since those voices had somehow popped into her head, most likely because she had been too busy to really pay attention to them, they had been little more than inaudible whispers while she had been focusing on tasks for Hades. But it seemed that now they were going to pester her while she was still upset over his angry outburst. After cleaning up the breakfast dishes she had come down to the Pool of Lethe to mope in peace.

"Wait. Foretold?" The blonde youthful looking goddess blinked unsurely standing up and straightening her crinkled black strapless chiton, since she had never gone to sleep she hadn't bothered to change out of the outfit Narcissus had brought for her to wear yesterday.

_"Oh Praxidike, we have waited so long with no-one to guide us, we wish to know. What lies beyond the fields?"_

_"Is this all we do for eternity? Is there no hope for another shot at life? A second chance.."_

_"Please, we ask humbly for your presence 'Oh wise and just ruler'..Some of us grow bored and idle.."_

_"Come to us, fair Praxidike.. Please.. We seek your clarity, your grace.. Is this all there is?"_

"I'm not your ruler! I don't know why your bothering me.. Stop it, stop it, _stop it!_" She shrieked our loud holding her blonde hair at the roots by her head and tugging in frustration.

"You always talk to yourself when I ain't around?" The sound of a dangerously familiar male voice came from behind her and the white skinned goddess whipped her blonde head around to see Hades now seated on the bench where she had been just a little while earlier. Persephone blinked a few times in shock at the sight of him before instantly remembering she was upset with him, turning away then folding her arms and pouting.

"What do you want now?" She asked in a somewhat huffy and wounded tone, not in the mood for his humour. He wasn't who she wanted to see right now, she didn't particularly want to see anyone but everyone else had the sense to let her be upset in peace and not barge in before she was ready to face them.

"Geez Seph, I didn't mean t'upsetcha. Just wanted to check in before my meeting with the Fates." Hades exhaled disliking the fact that the hollow void of his guilt actually seemed to hurt more when she spoke to him in that tone. The much younger goddess turned her head to him and his heart seemed to twist at the sight of her smeared eye make up. He had done that to her. In fairness he had done that to a lot of others in his time but this time he genuinely cared about how it made her feel. He really was turning into a yutz..

"Your meeting with the Fates?" This was the only thing that really registered with Persephone, the voices said her coming was foretold by the Fates, maybe they could tell her who these voices were. Her expression softened towards him immediately. "Can I come with you?"

"Wait, what?" Hades blinked confused by the fact that his somewhat apology had been ignored completely. "Why?" His expression turned suspicious, wondering why she would want to meet the demented sisters of destiny.

"Well, Pain and Panic did say that it's because of them I'm here. I want to know why? It can't _just_ be to pull you out of Lethe, I've done that but I'm still here." Persephone flashed him a smile adding mentally to herself,_ 'and to find out where these stupid voices are coming from'_.

"Your here because you refuse to leave." The blue flamed god drawled in a deadpan tone but realised this was the wrong thing to say when a hurt look appeared on her lovely face.

"You want me to leave?" Persephone asked in a soft voice sounding a little crushed.

"No, no. Far from it, far from it.. I... uh, _heh_, actually like having you here." The fiery god inwardly cursed himself for getting somewhat tongue-tied with her. He'd been talking to her just fine up until now. He was starting to sound like Zeus' little Wonderbrat when he first started talking to Nut-Meg... His mind seemed to stop at that point finally realising what was happening to him..

"I like being here too." The young goddess replied moving a little closer. "So can see them?"

_..She's touching me! _He mentally panicked slightly upon feeling her hand grip his large pale blue hand then with almost no coaxing required he rose from the stone bench standing at his full eight feet of height in the Pool of Lethe.

"Alright, fine. But I gotta warn you about them first.." Hades responded finding his voice again and summoning a grey handkerchief, offering it to the much younger goddess so that she could fix her smudged make up. She accepted with a soft 'thanks' and began to remove the wet smudges from under her eyes as they walked and talked.

* * *

"I only want this to be heard by the mortals, understand?" Hecate called out to the darkened caverns of the void between life and death. She was halfway up the long staircase that took her to the Temple of Necromancy in Elis. It was here where Echo could be heard clear as day and it was here that the disembodied nymph liked to hide herself away, where no-one would usually force her to speak. It was also here that the witch had roped in her services, promising to restore her if she aided her in spreading these rumours. Perhaps if Echo had been a smarter nymph she would have seen this was a deception by the half-god half-Titan witch before her but she was desperate and lonely. She just wanted to be seen again, to speak for herself again. She had spoken out of turn to Hera once and this was her punishment, had she not suffered enough? She hid here because Hera would never come here. She hoped maybe Hades' Queen would take pity on her but he had not chosen one yet..

"Mortals... Understand.." Echo's disembodied voice repeated in a hollow almost mournful tone.

"Good.." Hecate muttered in a softer voice so that the mindless disembodied nymph would not repeat it back to her. "Now to go back and check on Persephone, I will have to contact Demeter with an update later today.." The immortal witch was saying to her two winged wolves as she descended the steps back into the Underworld darkness just assuming Echo had left right away and was not still hovering nearby.

"Persephone.." The disembodied voice uttered softly in some concern.

* * *

**_Little Notes:_**

**_Hey guys, so for taking so long with this chapter. Ive been doing some DIY projects that have cut into my writing time. Curse of having a house of your own, I guess. Anyway, as mentioned above I have a poll out, it's only open until my review shit 50 then I will be writing the winning one-shot. I'd love you all to vote for which story you would like to see most and the results will be announced on the chapter after the 50th review is posted for. Good luck guys.. you have the final say.._**

**_Alright, Echo is kind of a pitiful figure. She wasn't always one but she ran afoul of Hera and now she just roams the empty places of the world, a sort of ghost of what she used to be. I can't tell you much about her past but she does know Persephone. She had a major crush on Narcissus (which she still holds onto) so it makes sense that she knew who his friends were.._**

**_Ok, the voices are back. I know they have been absent but that was deliberate not just a lapse in my story writing. Persephone is now beginning to wonder why she is really here and yes, I'm pretty sure many of you have figured out why. I didn't exactly hid it from you but it was never supposed to be a secret from the readers. Honestly, Hades is probably a lot closer to figuring it out for her but Persephone hasn't considered asking him about the voices yet. She doesn't understand what they are yet.. Will the Fates shed any light? Will Hades understand? And just what is Hecate up to now? _**

**_S.Y.N.T.. Stay Tuned.._**

**_A~Teal_**


	12. Confusion In Emotions

**Plight of Persephone**

Ok people, you know the score, I do not own Hercules, Disney does and even though they have not issued plans for a live action redo, give it time. Everything else seems to be getting the treatment so I wouldn't be shocked if it happened. And since Disney aren't entertaining the idea of a remake, I decided I would. Don't worry, you do not need to have read any of my other stories to read this one and the original is NOT going anywhere, it stays here where it belongs.. I do own this version of Persephone and all other original characters and places that come up, permission and advice is always given to those who want to use them but do tell me if you use my characters so I may view and comment on your work.. Just like the original I will be basing this story around Greek myths and twisting them around just like Disney did, I will also be reworking some of the original plot lines.. Please review and let me know your thoughts.. Thank you for your time. Enjoy! X

* * *

**Reviews:**

**Sharkeygirl: Yeh, I've always pictured Echo as not perticularly bright and the kind of nymph that dug her own grave, so to speak. She's going to be a somewhat pitiful character but also has a small role in this story too. X**

**zsofius: That was deliberate. I wanted most of the chapter to come from Hades' perspective because I've mostly been focusing on Persephone with a little of him thrown in. He's going through a lot of new emotions that he doesn't understand, mostly because he either hasn't experienced them or it has been so long since he has experienced them that he has forgotten how it feels. He has been closed-hearted and shut off from his better side for so long that's quite disarming now that it's starting to rear it's head again. He's very complex with many layers.. Your kind about Hecate. I feel so far she has been underused but her plan is kind of a back burning part of the plot at the moment but will be pushing it's way to the front over the next few chapters where we'll see more and more of her.. x**

**taralucent98: It's good to know DisneyPlus will be getting it. Unfortunately since I live in the U.K. I won't get that until Disney's contract with SkyTV is up which is not until spring 2020. You can actually watch the Hercules TV series online. I use the site to watch it for character reference and research and some House of Mouse stuff too X**

**A Strawberry: Persephone will ask but the Fates never really give a straight answer, do they? Well, there's been a couple mentioned already. The consequence of Hercules punching Hades into the Vortex of Phlegethon was that the Underworld ceased working creating a backlog, when Zeus failed to notice this the Fates were forced to intervene. The consequence of Persephone being in the Underworld is that Hecate now has a golden opportunity to scheme, especially since most of Olympus is still angry about the recent takeover scheme.. For every action there is a reaction both positive and negative.. X**

* * *

**Chapter Twelve: Confusion In Emotions**

The Fates grotto was closer to the surface than Persephone imagined it to be, not that the goddess had ever really considered what the abode of the dread sisters might actually be like. If she ever thought about them it was only to wonder if they had forgotten about her, it seemed like her life was never going to actually start. But then, she also never expected to come down here either, that had been a surprise to her. As the two immortals ascended closer towards the surface realm it became clear to Persephone that they were into the autumnal weather as the chilling winds swept down the stairwell they were climbing. A perticularly cold gust of wind made Persephone shudder and cry out in the shock of the cold, rubbing her arms and brightening her aura to no avail. Immediately she wished she had changed out of the flimsy silk dress she was wearing but unfortunately nothing in her limited wardrobe was made for the chilling autum weather. The sound of her loud gasp made the Lord of the Dead whip around to see the white skinned youthful beauty was rooted to a few steps below him shivering with an unhappy expression, her aura was clearly not able to stave off the cold winds blustering down the enormous stairwell.

"Not a fan of the cold either, huh?" He descended a couple of steps towards her, his deep-set yellow eyes narrowed, his expression unreadable at first before softening into some pity. The fiery god had never liked the cold weather either, he kept the Underworld running at the same temperature annually just so he didn't have to deal with it. "My bad Seph, usually I like the walk. Let's me collect my thoughts before I see the Fates but since the cold is gettin' to ya we can take the easy way." The youthful goddess felt her cheeks burn up when he finally stood beside her on the step she had stopped on, it was the first piece of heat she had felt since partaking in this trek. When he drew closer to her she averted her gaze from him knowing instantly that the 'easy way' was him manifesting them both directly there meaning he would have to hold her. Her breath hitched silently as his muscled arms encircled her and her eyes fluttered shut accepting the embrace.

Unbeknown to her the blue flamed god, who had only just realised the extent of his feelings towards her and was still unsure how he was supposed to deal with it, had swallowed thickly as he stood in front of her. For once he was unable to come up with something witty to say to break the tension that was thick in the air. The heart he once claimed not to have was beating rapidly in his chest making it's presence known and noticed, his breathing stopped for the moment his arms awkwardly moved around her. It felt different now that he understood he had an infatuation with her, reacting instinctively to the cool touch of her icy skin the tips of his long fingers glowed orange like embers, projecting warmth into her immortal body and this brought out a small sigh from Persephone. Her blonde head actually flopping down against his dark chiton, a small smile of satisfaction innocently curving her lips.

"Your very warm." She murmured in a hushed voice and his heart jumped slightly at the compliment.

"Ah-heh, yeh. Comes with havin' a flaming head of hair." He responded automatically before his eyes narrowed in a deadpan look as his brain jeered, ..Smooth.. Fortunately for him the youthful goddess' eyes opened after his moment of self loathing, looking somewhat confused at the fact that they were still standing on the steps embraced.

"Well I do get a breif moment of heat when I'm angry so I could believe that. Are you not supposed to be manifesting us to the Fates?" Her pretty green eyes blinked innocently up at him, her dainty lithe fingers gently resting on his upper abdomen.

"I will, just figured you might need a little warmin' up first." The Lord of the Dead replied making a mental note to get her a chiton made out of something more appropriate for being down here once they were done talking to the Fates. She needed something of a thicker, more flame retardant material and as much as he liked the cut of her dress he thought it might look better with some strap support to enhance her— He inwardly shook those thoughts loose from his mind, he shouldn't be thinking such impure things about her. Once her body temperature had risen and her body stopped unconsciously quivering in his arms the blue flamed god gripped her tighter, trying not to focus on the fact that he could feel almost every contour of her body through the flimsy silk material..

* * *

"Ladies, hah, I'm so sorry that I'm—"

"Late!" All three women squawked together cutting off the blue flamed god and making him roll his eyes. They had their backs to the two gods at this moment, huddled together around the Tapestry of Fate but even though she couldn't see their features Persephone couldn't help but notice that all three were short in stature, maybe even shorter than her.

"We knew you would be." Lachesis responded turning to face the two deities revealling her withered green skinned face and snake like yellow hair that stuck out the edges of her hooded cloak.

"At least he's brought Persephone, that's something." Blue skinned Clotho sniffed causing the black spider that had been dangling down her nose to shoot up inside making the white skinned goddess grimace at the sight. The Fate of the Past's bony arms folded across her chest as she reguarded the pair before them.

"You doubted my words sister?" Atropos replied, the last one to turn around and reveal her lilac skin and green snake like hair and the only one of the three with an eyeball in her socket. She was shorter than any of them and Persephone couldn't help but feel tall by comparison despite being smaller than most gods. "It's good to finally see you again Persephone, I haven't laid eye upon you since you were a baby." She added to the much younger goddess with a kindly but toothy grin.

"Hmh. Demeter's made it difficult to get close to you." Lachesis added before nudging her slightly taller blue skinned sister. "I told you she was a looker, didn't I?"

"Didn't help that you decided to name her daughter for her though, did it Atropos?" Clotho added in a scathing tone towards her sister and the tiniest fate shrugged unconcerned.

"I was only trying to help.." The lilac skinned fate responded, tossing the Eye of Fate casually to Lachesis who caught it neatly in her bony pale green fingers.

"That's not how she sees it." Persephone smirked before Hades, who had been deadpanning through this entire exchange up until that point, cut the youthful goddess from continuing the conversation. Her green eyes looking upwards in some disappointment to his hulking great form.

"That's great, really something but can we turn this back towards why I called this meeting, namely, me.." The blue flamed god said with his usual oily smirk as he step forward shielding the much younger goddess from the Fates' veiw.

"You had your chance Hades.." Lachesis folded her arms across her chest.

"Don't bother asking for another.." Clotho added with a deep set frown waggling one pointed finger at him in annoyance.

"Yeh, that much I figured already.." Hades exhaled deeply, his eyes narrowed in some disappointment before he brightened in what Persephone recognised as a forced cheerful front. "But hey, ya can't blame a god for tryin, right? So, I'm just supposed to, what? Stay in my dark depressing realm and rot for eternity?"

"The Underworld's not depressing.." The younger snow-white skinned goddess frowned slightly at his words and this made the blue flamed god turn back to her and flash her a despairing look.

"Uh, yeh, no offence but you've been here, what? Less than a month? You have no clue what your talkin' about sugar.." Hades responded in a dismissive tone.

"If you don't like it then make changes!" Persephone replied hotly, mad at the fact that he was dismissing her a words when she was only trying to help. This in turn made Hades' skin orange despite the fact that he was trying to hold back his frustration.

"It's not that simple.." He replied through clenched sharp teeth, his fists balling as he fought to hold back his growing annoyance with her.

"Why not? Your in charge down here, if your that unhappy why can't you make changes? Hermes told me you always have new ideas, that you think outside the box.. You think Zeus cares? He didn't even know you were stuck in the Pool of Lethe.." Persephone was glowering back at him now, the ends of her own hair curling into flames of irritation at his reluctance to take her seriously.

"Because..." Hades started but tailed off as he shook unable to hold back his annoyance at her badgering him. "_I DUNNO WHERE TO START!_" He roared out making the younger goddess jump back in a breif moment of fright, her hair immediately dropping back down to normal in the process.

"You could start by showing her how to deal with prayers.." Atropos replied as the two flame haired gods had squared up to each other with matching glares, she and her sisters had been watching the two verbally spar with each other with some amusement. It was fun to them since they knew just how similar they were to each other despite their differences in status, stature and powers. The effect of the oldest Fate's words were immediate because when both gods turned their heads towards the Fates Hades' hair returned to normal, his skin was back to his calm and focused blue.

"Excuse me?" He uttered looking completely lost.

"Prayers?" Persephone blinked in confusion at her in the same moment.

"Those voices in your head.." Lachesis added tapping the Eye of Fate sitting comfortably in her left eye socket in a hinted manner.

"_Woah!_ Time out." Hades immediately formed a 'T' with his large bony hands grinning at the Fates before seizing Persephone by the upper arm. "Can we talk a minute? Over _here.._" He then dragged the much smaller blonde haired goddess to the far corner of the room and scowled at her. "What voices in your head? When did this start happenin'?" His voice was hushed and he looked annoyed once more but this time it was only enough to tinge the tips of his flames yellow, making the inner flames look green.

"I've been getting them on off for the last four months. They were coming from the ground when I was on Sicily. They went away when I first got here so I just figured they were your dead guys looking for help but now they're back again." Persephone exhaled throwing him a reluctant look and this made his expression twist into a comical look of shock.

"_Why didn't you say anything!_" It wasn't a question, it was a hushed statement of irritation and disbelief that came with a minor flare up and a disappointed glare. He thought they were supposed to be 'friends' or at least getting on with each other.

"Right, cause your the poster boy of honesty and openness, aren't you?" Persephone retorted folding her arms across her chest knowing that he was not being completely honest with her but she had never pulled him up,about it. Hades facepalmed, groaning a little into his hand before he dragged it down from his face with another deadpan look towards the reader.

"Ok. Maybe I deserve that but if you want me to be honest then you gotta work with me. I need t'know if stuff like this happens, alright?" The fiery god responded still unhappy with the fact that she had been hiding this from him but accepted that he was hardly open with her. He could have helped her deal with it by now if she had only come to him sooner.

"And you have to be open to sharing things me." Persephone said before deciding to qualify her position. "I don't mean you have to tell me _everything_, just the important stuff. And I wanna learn how to do more than just greet the Dead." This made the fiery blue god sigh.

"Fine, ok then. I'll show you more than just the soul booth, _if_, ya promise to go through Basic Minion Torture, deal?" He adding as that snake-like suave smirk twisted his full blue lips once more and he held out his hand towards her. Persephone regarded it for a moment with an unsure expression before her strikingly bright green eyes returned to meet his gaze, her expression turning somewhat suspicious.

"No funny buisness, right?" She asked, one neat light-brown eyebrow kinking upwards. The small blonde goddess had heard plenty from various gods about his schemes and wasn't sure if she should trust him completely.

"_Urh_.." Hades made a mock-noise of offence complete with a hand to the chest and a slight shoulder slump before pretending to look insulted. "Ya wound me babe, what do ya take me for? I'm offerin' t'do this for your benefit."

"What do you get out of this?" The white skinned goddess asked curiously.

"Nothin', I just get to tutor you." He looked genuine and serious but Persephone was still unsure but her resolve was crumbling, he hadn't been mean or lied to her so far and she owned nothing that he could possibly want to cheat her out of. "No funny buisness, I promise." He added moving his hand more insistently feeling a little rejection in the fact that she didn't trust his word. He could understand why but it made him want to prove to her that he was true to his word, just like he always had been.

"Ok then." She replied shakily extending her hand towards his and accepting the handshake, a strange blue aura connecting both their hands and a tingly feeling shot up her arm making her gasp and let go of him, gazing at her hand in shock.

"Heh, my bad. Force of habit just shake it off, it'll go away." Hades replied softly, he hadn't intended to form a binding deal out of this agreement but he figured it was the best way to prove his worth to her. His infatuation compelling him to make her see he wasn't as bad as everybody made him out to be. As Persephone shook the feeling of pins and needles out of her arm the blue flamed gods rounded back to the Fates who had returned their attention to the tapestry as they waited for the two gods.

"Alright, answer me one thing then we'll be on our way." Hades' voice made the younger blonde goddess turn her head an look surprised towards the blue flamed god.

"You want to know why we sent her to you." Clotho responded, knowing the question before he could actually ask it.

"Well, as a matter of fact—" Hades began before finding himself cut off.

"All things will be revealed without being foretold.." Lachesis said with a stern look towards them.

"For only then can events truly unfold.." Atropos added making all three cackle with glee together.

"Oy, again with the verse. You ladies should really get a new shtick, this one's kinda stale, don'tcha think?" The blue flamed god rolled his eyes with a small frown looking unimpressed before turning away from them to Persephone who was blinking in some confusion at them. "C'mon babe, let's blow this joint."

* * *

_...At the same moment on Mount Olympus.. _

"Narcissus, I need your help." Hermes said as he swooped into the cloudy home, skidding to a halt in front of the God of Self-Obsession who had been styling his own hair casually while smiling wistfully into his mirror.

"You sure do Hermes." Narcissus replied with a smirk. "You've been wearing that same outfit since you became Messenger to the Gods. Gold cap, white toga? Whatta we trying to say? Vestal virgin?" His silvery eyes rolled at this before continuing, "Sheyeah, right. That would be a lie.."

"Ah-hah! Hilarious babe but I'm serious!" The neon blue god fluttered anxiously by him as Narcissus continued to admire himself in the mirror.

"Calm down, you'll give yourself stress lines.. And don't say gods don't get stress lines, have you seen Hades?" Narcissus responded finally pulling away from his mirror. "I just don't see what our Seph sees in him." He shuddered at the mental image that this presented him with then was forced to whip out his comb once more and push back the one unruly lock of silver hair that dared to move.

"Yeh, don't think on that image too much." Hermes responded but grinned, "But it's the rumours about those two I need your help with. The mortals are starting to find out, I dunno how but I need you to ask Echo about it."

This made Narcissus groan and finally put down his mirror.

"Echo, can't you just ask her yourself? You know where she hangs out and what to say to make her talk.." The purple tanned god rolled his eyes in slight irritation. "You know she still has that crazy infactuation with me.."

"I know but she's been elusive and I was hoping you would draw her out, since she's so sweet on you." The smaller blue god grinned hopefully. "She'll listen if you talk to her."

"Why should I?" The God of Self-Obsession huffed folding his arms.

"Aw, c'mon babe, do it for Seph! She's always been there for us, now it's our turn. I gotta know who started this rumour and try to keep it contained from both Demeter and Zeus." Hermes explained adding, "You know they will both overreact if they find out about this."

"Alright, fine. But you so owe me big for this." Narcissus replied getting out of his seat.

* * *

"I'm sorry, I guess the Fates weren't very helpful to you, huh?" Persephone was saying to Lord of the Dead as they materialised into the large throne room in the House of Hades, her focus was on their meeting with the Fates they had just left. They seemed more interested in her than him and he had gone to find out what he was supposed to do next, not hear about how Atropos had named her at birth. Persephone had heard that story for centuries, her mother had be complaining about that to her for as long as she could remember, that was why she had been saddled with the unwanted nickname of 'Cora'.

"Eh, depends on your definition of helpful Seph. Personally, I found the meeting quite _illuminating_ myself." The blue flamed god uttered warmly in response as he slumped down onto his large stone throne looking contemplative about what had just transpired between them and the Fates.

"You did?" Persephone kinked a brow to him in some disbelief. She hadn't gleaned anything from that pointless meeting except maybe confirmation that the Fates were exactly as Hermes described them.

"_Ah! _Ya just don't know how to read between words my sweet. All in good time, all in good time. By the time I'm through with you, you'll see the surface for _exactly_ what it is." He drawled unconcerned slouching back in his deep set throne getting comfortable. He then looked bemused to his right to find Persephone perching herself on the armrest, her slender ankles dangling gracefully off the side as she innocently rested her head back against his shoulder.

"So, you wanna enlighten me on what I missed?" Persephone asked him with a small girly smile curving her lips manifesting two glasses of her spiced nectar and ice, offering him one. She was either completely oblivious to the fact that her sitting in such close proximity was a discomfort or ignoring it since he had not offered her any kind of seat of her own. It wasn't that Hades didn't like her sprawling herself out and using him as a headrest, more that he didn't know what he was supposed to do about it. His infactuation was messing with his usually rational mind, he knew it was wrong for him to allow a clearly virginal goddess to sit so close to him but he couldn't bring himself to manifest her a seat and force her to move away.

"Well, clearly your powers are advancing. Probably means your close to findin' out your purpose, that would explain the prayers you've been gettin' lately." He paused to take a drink from his glass, privately wondering if it had something to do with the strange behaviour he had witnessed at the boarder to the Elysian Fields a few weeks back but chose not to voice it instead saying, "If that is the case then we may have to talk about you stayin' long term."

"Long term?" Persephone coughed a little on her mouthful of nectar, her eyes widening in surprise at this statement. "Y-you mean like stay... _here?_" Her voice squeaked out the last word, her mouth staying open in shock for a moment before she shook her head roughly and jumped back out off the armrest, staggering a little on the steps up to it. "No. No, I-I can't.. I'm a direct descendant of Gaia, I'm supposed to be a fertility goddess. Like my mother, like my grandma.." She looked so confused, unsure and a little sad about it as her green eyes turned to the ground. She was a being of pure life and as much as she would like to be here, everything she had learned told her she didn't belong here.

"Sephy.." Hades crooned in a low timbre, leaning forward and hooking her pointed chin with his large pale blue index finger and thumb, gently tilting her so her eyes were on him again. He had never spoken to her in such a deep, warm tone nor had anyone else called her that before but it made her breath catch in her throat and her body prickle with an unknown hot tingly feeling she had never experienced before. "I said 'if' babe, I don't blame you for not wantin' to stay. I wouldn't either but I'm stuck here for the foreseeable future." His expression was so somber and sorrow filled while his touch was warm on her chin, as his fingers moved to cup the side of her face Persephone sighed closing her eyes, enjoying his touch more than she felt she should.

"It's not that I don't want to.." She began slowly as her green eyes fluttered open, her dainty but cold fingers raised slowly to his hand and rested on it gently. "It's just that I'm expected to—" Her words were cut off by the sound of tiny pattering feet as Pain and Panic dashed into the room looking anxious for their lord and master.

"Your flamefulness, you—" Pain tailed off and stopped in his tracks seeing the two gods in such proximity to each other. In response to the interruption both gods immediately broke contact with each other, while Hades withdrew and sat back straight in his throne Persephone backed up and both deities flashed an awkward look towards the two imps. Panic, who had crashed into his chubbier twin's back the moment he had stopped peered out from around Pain and suddenly grabbed his arm tugging him away.

"Your busy, we'll come back." He drawled with a nervous breath hardly missing the look of annoyance that his boss was throwing the two of them.

"No. It's ok.." Persephone replied earnestly regaining her composure. "Heh, I should really get out of this dress anyway." She added with a small smile to the Lord of the Dead, who at this word blinked as if recalling something he had forgotten.

"Oh, hold that thought, that reminds me." He vanished out into a large explosion of smoke returning momentarily with some thick looking black material in his hand. "Same threads I make mine outta. How are your sewing skills?"

"Heh, pretty lousy actually." Persephone admitted with a nervous titter remembering the mess she had made the last time she tried, even Athena had given up trying to teach her saying she was hopeless. The enormous god merely chuckled in some amusement at these words as the idea of a goddess that couldn't sew was odd. But then again, he was a god that could which was even stranger.

"Then here, allow me." Hades replied tossing up the black material up casually waving his hand at it. The black material swooped through the air circling around Persephone who looked wide-eyed in surprise, her arms lifting automatically as is swooped in close to her body, wrapping itself around her tightly.

The youthful goddess gasped out in shock, feeling as though she were being suctioned by the material then feeling two straps of material wrap around her shoulders and the sharp snapping of two pins above either side of her ample bust. Then the material stopped moving and Persephone blinked a couple of times feeling slightly odd about the whole experience, like she had somehow been violated. The silk dress that Narcissus had made her now in Hades' hand. The blue flamed god studied the flimsy dress before his grip tightened and the whole thing went up in flames. It's ashes flaking over the stone floor. He snorted shaking his head in amusement at how quickly it burned, that twisted smirk still on his full blue lips before those large deep set eyes returned to Persephone.

The youthful goddess was running her hands over the dress he had manifested for her, down the soft material that was hugging her glorious curves tighter than any dress she had worn previously. Her large round cleavage was supported by two straps of black, each clipped in place by two neon pink pomegranate clasps. The large slit down the side of her wrapped dress stopped at her mid thigh while the bottom hit the floor.

Her cherry coloured lips were still parted slightly in shock as she tried to take in what just happened.

"Ya like it?" He asked finally drawing her attention to him, barely noticing the two imps coming up to her to inspect the dress.

"I... I..." She stuttered, lost for words. She didn't know what to think, nevermind say.

"Inspired!" Panic declared brightly a huge toothy grin on his face. "Now she really does look like she's part of the team!"

"Your attention to detail never fails to amaze your magnanimous one." Pain added looking over the youthful goddess with an approving eye. "Is this a good time to ask about our request to reclassify us as Agents of Darkness?" He added turning his attention back to his lord and master.

"It would look so much better on the resume than what we are currently." Panic added dipping his ears a little but looking hopeful.

Hades exhaled heavily at this, rubbing his temples in frustration.

"We can discuss your job descriptions later.." Hades drawled out then kinked an eyebrow curiously at them. "What did you want anyway?"

"Oh. Well we are having a little trouble with one of the new guys." Panic explained quickly. "He doesn't quite 'get the program'." The teal imp air quoted looking concerned.

"So they sent us another live one, or what?" The blue flamed god asked curiously swiping up his nectar cup and finishing it off and making the cup vanish.

"No.. This one is just a real complainer—" Pain started but Hades chuckled then cut him off remembering that he had heard this complaint before.

"Lemmie guess, they're creepin' you out."

"Uh, no.. W-we just think that they could use some of your strong and forceful management style to make them fall back in line." The magenta imp declared with a slight fist pump and this made Hades' blue flames billow in sadistic delight.

"_Perfect! _I've been itchin' for an excuse to smite somethin'." The fiery blue god exclaimed and instantly both imps dived behind Persephone's black skirt, having learnt from the first day the two gods had met that her white aura protected against his fiery wrath. His large yellow eyes blinked scanning for both imps before finding them as Persephone turned and frowned slightly at them for using her as a shield again. "Oy.. Show me the stiff or your _first!_" He bent down flaring with a scowl at the two imps who trembled.

"Sounds like you have a busy morning. Do you want me to cover the office work for you?" Persephone sounded sweetly, she didn't know much about running the Underworld other than the soul booth at the start but she knew plenty about secretarial work and just how he liked his paperwork done.

"Would you? That would be so great, your a doll!" Hades straightened leaning in and kissing her on her porcelain white cheek making her blink in shock then blush a light peach shade once more. "Gotta blaze, we'll do lunch and talk about the lesson plan, 'kay?"

"He he.." The youthful goddess couldn't stop her girlish giggle, it just slipped out and that tingly hot feeling was burning under her skin again. She watched him leave with the imps and Panic seemed to flash her some kind of very brief but knowing look before they all disappeared down the stairs that lead to the docks of the Styx. Exhaling slowly to try and cool off her rising body temperature the white skinned goddess picked up her barely drunk nectar and walked in the opposite direction to his office..

**Little Notes: **

**Hey guys, first off let me say that I appreciate the fact that when I posted late last Friday many of you waited for Tuesday to review. I dunno if that was deliberate or not but it was very sweet and I was touched. This chapter is posted earlier than planned but that is just because of work as since we are into the British October holidays it's very busy and I will be doing a six day week. As a result I will be losing Tuesday which is my second day off and my 'editing' day soIm posting today in the hopes that I can just have Monday to myself and not have a mild panic meltdown because I need to do my housework and try to finish and edit at the same time. As a result the scene with Hecate has been chopped out of this one so the next chapter will be picking straight up with that..**

**Secondly, I have fixed the issue that was stopping you guys from voting twice on my poll. You can go back and cast a second vote now, although I doubt it would make a difference as I can see where the result is heading.. So once I'm a couple of reviews away from 50 planning will start but I do have a few ideas rolling already.**

**Let's talk the Fates just a second. I know the green one is identified in the series as Clotho but Ive always considered that a mistake as in the movie they introduce themselves by job and the green one is 'Present' aka Lachesis, not Clotho..**

**Anyway, I've bored you enough for now..**

**Stay Tuned (hopefully on a Tuesday)**

**A~Teal**


	13. Reverberations of Witchy Business

**Plight of Persephone**

Ok people, you know the score, I do not own Hercules, Disney does and even though they have not issued plans for a live action redo, give it time. Everything else seems to be getting the treatment so I wouldn't be shocked if it happened. And since Disney aren't entertaining the idea of a remake, I decided I would. Don't worry, you do not need to have read any of my other stories to read this one and the original is NOT going anywhere, it stays here where it belongs.. I do own this version of Persephone and all other original characters and places that come up, permission and advice is always given to those who want to use them but do tell me if you use my characters so I may view and comment on your work.. Just like the original I will be basing this story around Greek myths and twisting them around just like Disney did, I will also be reworking some of the original plot lines.. Please review and let me know your thoughts.. Thank you for your time. Enjoy! X

* * *

**Reviews:**

**Sharkeygirl: Hmm, I'm not sure fun is a conversation with someone who can only repeat words that you have already said back to you is the best way to describe that, but I admire your enthusiasm. Persephone has no clue at this moment she thinks that she is merely interning for six months and then she is just gonna go back to her mother and that will be it, just like all her other jobs. She has never interned for longer than a few months, probably goes back to Demeter content in the fact she was able to help in a moment of need and then carry on until the feeling of being useless and unneeded makes her seek another internship.. I kinda imagine that's how her life has been up until this point. X**

**reginelovemegirl12: Wow, three reviews, you are keen. I'm very happy you liked the original and the one-shot B.B.O.G.L.. Um, yeh... As you can tell from that M-rated story I'm not the most comfortable at writing full on nudity and personally while the odd swear word doesn't phase me it's not something I use everyday, mostly just when I'm annoyed and or frustrated. I intend to keep this story a T-rated story, purely because that makes it accessible to everyone and this means I don't have to delve into territory that makes me uncomfortable. Consider your request under consideration at this moment as I haven't given much thought to anything further than the next few chapters at this point X**

**taralucent98: And in one scene in Hercules Persephone is actually completely cross-eyed.. No, not really. They have some things in common but not a huge amount. She has green eyes, not lavendar and she has a curvy figure. Still, that could probably be hidden in a white shapeless dress and dorky flower crown. They are likely a similar height as Persephone is small and petite looking. It's kind of a case of big things come in small packages.. Much like the series gave Artemis and Cupid new makeovers I redesigned Persephone to look more like something Hades might actually show some interest in. Plus, she was detained on Sicily during the whole event while the Titans were invading Olympus so she wasn't actually there at all, Hercules has never met her at all. In this story Zeus hasn't actually seen her in person since she was a little kid, her punishments where handed down through Demeter and probably confirmed by Hermes. The time she refused to show Zeus where she grew the antidotes to her poisonous plants was probably the last time she saw him and I would guess she was probably looking about 10 or 11 at the time X**

**Sam'sCheshireCatSlytherinScorp: I'm glad you like both stories and that you enjoy my writing. X**

* * *

_A/N: So sorry for taking so long with this chapter. I literally had no time to write as I have been incredibly busy... Just a heads up. This chapter will have no Hades or Persephone but will be focusing instead on the other characters in the story. Forgive me but they will be back in the next chapter.._

* * *

**_Chapter Thirteen: Reverberation of Witchy Buisness_**

If Narcissus ever came close to the idea of considering suicide just to get out of talking to Echo then this was the moment. But then, he couldn't deny the world of gazing in marvel at his beautiful immortal body. Being the God of Self-Obsession and Style was a curse sometimes, what was he supposed to do? Not be his handsome self? _As if..._

"Echo... Oh. Echo... Most gorgeous man in all of Greece calling!" The silver haired, violet tanned god called wearing his most charming smile and flexing his bulging biceps.

"Oh _brother_.." Hermes drawled after following the irritatingly handsome god out to the vacant looking valley beneath Mount Chithearon, native home of Echo and her sisters. While her other siblings frolicked in the vast beautiful meadows plains the disembodied nymph kept mostly to herself in a desolate chasm. She had no body to frolic with and her sisters wouldn't play with her anymore anyway.

"May I _remind_ you that you _wanted_ my help." Narcissus flashed the smaller god a dark look that really didn't suit his handsome features but it left quickly at the sound of a soft disembodied voice..

_"Wanted..."_

"You can't deny that I get results.." Narcissus added in a hushed tone to Hermes making the shorter god roll his eyes. She had always had the major hots for him, that was hardly a big secret.

"Don't make my love for you sour babe." The tiny god responded with a smirking leer knowing Echo would jump to repeat his words.

_"My love.." _Echo cooed out making Narcissus facepalm and growl in irritation before exhaling in a cleansing breath, determined to just get through this torture without gaining a new wrinkle in the process.

"Echo, we need to talk. Seriously hun, be a peach and tell us, has someone been forcing you to spread rumours about our Seph, yes or no?" The violet tanned god drawled s he pulled his best smouldering look. This was something he usually used to get girls to loosen their tongues. And who could resist such a handsome specimen of godhood such as himself?

There was silence for a moment.

"Rumours... Yes..." Echo's voice finally replied and Hermes grinned as Narcissus nudged him, this was broken by her disembodied voice which then added, "No.." This part was sadder than the rest of her broken echo and it made both gods' smiles fell, twisting into looks of concern.

"What does that mean?" Hermes uttered pulling his rose-tinted glasses down the bridge of his long nose as if examining Echo but, of course, he couldn't see her at all.

"Probably that she's made a phoney deal with someone to try and rid her of her wretched curse.." Narcissus rolled his pale eyes in slight boredom then added, "Tragic, really. Only Hera can reverse it, she's the only one who knows exactly what she did."

"And we both know there's fat chance of her doin' that babe." The smaller Messenger God responded pushing his specks back into place.

"Exactly.." The God of Self-Obsession rolled his eyes, his tone and body language clearly expressing that she should just accept the way things were and try to move on. "Ok, you made a deal with who Echo.." Narcissus spoke loud and clear again, his arms folding tersely across his broad but firm chest with sparse but neatly groomed chest hair. "Upper or lower surface.." His voice was just as fed up of this twenty questions routine, wanting to get to the bottom of this quickly so he could retreat back to his beauty salon on Olympus and hope she didn't follow.

"Lower..."

Both gods blinked in shock at this, their eyes both widening comically as neither expected this answer.

"Who in the Underworld is gonna want to make Hades out to be a kidnapper?" Narcissus responded scratching his silvery quaff of hair in some confusion, furrowing his brow lightly.

"Oh... I can think of someone.." Hermes drawled, exhaling in disbelief feeling like an idiot for not coming to this conclusion sooner. There was only one being in the Underworld that came to mind as she had tried to undermine Hades before. Maybe even more than once, he wasn't really sure on the whole history between these two, he made a mental note to ask Persephone to probe the God of the Dead about that.

"So you don't need anymore from me?" The violet god looked suddenly bright and hopeful.

"No, I can take it from here babe, you can rush off back to your salon now." The much smaller blue god responded clapping him on his muscly shoulder and this made the God of Self-Obssession beam in delight.

"Thank the Fates for that, I need a full body and face massage, a wash and blow dry just for starters.. I can feel the stress lines forming.. Catch me up later on whatcha find out." He grilled lightly with a breezy inflection to his voice before he vanished out in a violet shimmer.

Will do Narcy." Hermes responded cheerfully.

"Narcy?" Echo's voice repeated in some confusion and this made the small god suck his teeth at the sudden awkwardness of the situation.

"Sorry Echo hun, the heveanly hunk is gone babe and, uh, I also gotta split. I gotta witch to see, a few errands to run and an appointment at three with the big guy on the cloud to keep. Maybe next time, bye.." Hermes tipped his golden winged hat to where he presumed the disembodied nymph was and vanished off in a shimmering blur of blue.

"Bye.." Echo repeated glumly to herself, once more completely alone with her thoughts.

* * *

The Greekly World News scroll building was bustling with the usual flurry of mortals checking and writing stories, confirming their authenticity and then getting them to the mass of scribes in the copying floor. At this moment one of Athens' most infamous and best reporters had been getting some water from the fresh water spring located in the large pillared foyer. No sooner than he had taken his papyrus cup of water did a voice call out to him, making him choke a little on the mouthful of water he had.

"Homer, _just_ the mortal I've been looking for..." The seductive tones in this perticular female voice caused the balding mortal human to shiver in some disgust, recognising the witch's voice before seeing her float towards him, her navy bat like cape fluttering in an unfelt breeze behind her. Homer rolled his greyish-green eyes and exhaled slowly wondering what the immortal witch could possibly want. Her last suggestion for a story had been a total snooze fest.

"Hecate." Homer uttered, his eyes narrowing as he folded his thick arms arose his slightly rotund chest. "Not exactly hot news, especially after the Titans' attempt on Olympus this summer.."

"So I heard." The Goddess of Witchcraft drawled in distaste through gritted teeth, she was never going to hear the end of this now. "But that story must be growing stale. You must've exhausted every avenue of it now. You need something fresh and have I got the scoop for _you_.." Her silvery-green eyes narrowed towards the mortal reporter and her dark blue hair seemed to flow around her.

"Oh yeh?" The reporter drawled sceptically, looking very doubtful. "This better not be another story about how you are the rightful ruler of the Underworld. That ship sailed eons ago, nobody believes you can get one over Hades." Homer responded waving her off once more then adding with a smirk, "That belongs in the funnies."

"It's funny you should mention him." The immortal witch replied feeling the edges of her falsely cheerful smile stiffening as to not reveal her true irritation at his words. Did everyone think he was untouchable? That her ambitions were wasted. Still, she needed this mortal to write the story as she needed it to be seen or Zeus' idiot mortal son wouldn't fall for the trick. So she chose to bury her annoyance and casually summomed a couple of comfy chair out of a ghostly blue shimmer and made herself comfortable. "The news I have is about him and a dainty young creature he has managed to trap in his realm.."

"Really? Hades is plotting evil again.." The reporter looked curious, this was an interesting titbit and sat opposite the immortal witch. "And he has a hostage, you say? What could he be doing now.."

"I haven't the faintest idea why he has Demeter's daughter trapped in that cold realm, I'm on my way to inform my old friend this instant in the hopes we are not too late. But thought I would let you know so you could get the word out and a strapping young hero might go down and rescue that poor sweet and virtuous goddess before he does something unspeakable, assuming he hasn't done it already that is.."

"Gazooks! A young goddess kidnapped by the horrific Lord of the Dead. Demeter's daughter no less, the seasons could be at risk, the whole of mankind doomed.. It could be eternal winter until she is returned. This is front page stuff! We need a hero now! I will write the story myself.." He scribbled notes in his notebook as he spoke, keen to write down as many details as he could squeeze in before getting up intending to rush off and get started immediately.

"Oh. And Homer.." Hecate drawled throwing him a firm look, one small hand resting in her sharp chin. "I _never_ told you about this, ok?"

"Keep you outta the picture.. Got it!" Homer responded before vanishing off in a hurry to go and get his story published. "Stop the presses I have a late breaking bulletin!" The witch smirked as she heard him say this.

"Nicely done." Canis responded as one wolf appeared out from the back of the dark blue comfy chair she was still lounging in. "Cunning is one of your best qualities Mistress of the Night."

"It _is_, isn't my pet." She replied still wearing that sneaky smirk on her pale face.

"If I may be so bold as to interject, why don't you wish to be a part of the story?" Lupus asked curiously.

"Because I don't want the other gods to realise I'm meddling.." She replied before finally turning around to her minions with a stern look. "Did you find Demeter like I asked you to!" It wasn't a question, it was a demand and both wolves took it as much by the steely look she was giving them now.

"Of course. She is at her winter home in Eleusis.." Canis responded with a smile.

"We informed her you would be dropping in with news on her daughter just as you requested." Lupus adding with an identical smile both flying wolves gave each other a crafty look.

"Good, now return to the Underworld and keep an eye on Hades and his bratty little houseguest while I go talk to Demeter about my "concerns"." The witch airquoted before she and the furniture around her vanished into a swoosh of ghostly pale blue. Immediately both wolves cocked their heads around the backs of each other, checking that they were completely alone. Their ears pricked to make sure nobody was approaching before the two pulled back, unfurled their large feathered wings and took off.

* * *

"Hecate, really? Did you come out this all this way just to try and get me to pull my daughter out of the Underworld because you know that won't work." Demeter exhaled throwing the immortal witch a slight frown. The two were in a spacious country house kitchen where Demeter was currently preparing some of her preserves, behind them herbs were hanging to dry and the room was filled with many aromatic smells. "You know she can be stubborn. Once she has an idea in her head that's it, there's no arguing with her and she has that nasty temper she inherited from Hades. She can be an absolute nightmare in her worst moments, best just leave her be. She knows she has to come up for Spring, that's what we agreed." The Goddess of Nature replied in a cheerful tone, her frown melting almost as fast as it came. Demeter had never held a grudge or gotten mad for long about anything, if anything she had always been one of the most level headed members of her family. It came with being an earth goddess, she was grounded and had great control, letting things just slide off her back. She rarely got into squabbles with her fellow gods, mostly because she was rarely on Olympus but also because she felt herself above such petty behaviour.

"What if he hurts her or tries to use her against you? Are you not at all concerned—" The Goddess of Witchcraft was broken off by Demeter who suddenly burst out laughing at the very idea of Hades trying to go after her domain.

"Hades is _not_ going to come after me.." The Goddess of Nature chuckled through her words, stifling her laughing with difficulty and stirring her preserve casually before settling the long wooden spoon on the side. "I have nothing he wants."

"You control the very seasons, if he found a way to stop you bringing in Spring he could wipe out all the mortals in one." Hecate stated plainly, folding her arms tightly across her chest. She knew this because if she were in charge of the Underworld this would have been her first strategy. Find a way to make winter eternal..

"_Oh_.. Now Hecate, he isn't going to do _that_." Demeter rolled her eyes and tutted her immediate disapproval at this idea. "He hates Winter more than any of us and he would be up to his eyeballs in souls. They would be hounding him day and night for all eternity. He would have no time for himself, why would he _want_ that?"

"Just throwing it out there as a possibility Demeter dear." Hecate uttered gritting her teeth, realising quickly that Demeter might know Hades a little better than she first thought. They never seemed to interact with each other but she instantly knew that he was hardly a 'people' god.

"Well, it's a _very_ far-fetched possibility. Be reasonable." Demeter responded stirring the preserve in the huge cast iron pot that Hephaestus had wrought for her eons ago and studying her preserve with a slightly dissatisfied expression. "I don't think this will be my best batch, there is a greasy layer on this. I'm just going to scoop that off." She proceeded to remove the 'grease' that was offending her eyes.

Hecate frowned thoughtfully before her eyes narrowed and she decided to just ask the question she was dying for an answer too.

"What if he sullied Persephone's virtue? Corrupted her innocence so to speak, what then?" Hecate asked and this, finally, got the desired reaction the witch had been looking for. Demeter stopped dead in her tracks, no longer fussing with her pot. When she turned around slowly towards the Goddess of Witchcraft her golden leafed crown was beginning to show tiny formations of ice.

"_Don't_ make me slip into an early frost." Demeter warned her sternly flashing a dark look proving that just because she was easy going didn't mean she was weak by any means. "Hades is a lot of things but I know he would _never_ stoop that low. He has always been respectful of a goddess' boundaries and I have never seen him lift a flame to a female mortal or underling. I trust him to show that same respect to my daughter."

"I'm not trying to, this is just a hypothetical.." Hecate merely responded lightly, feigning that everything was fine while secretly delighting in the fact that this seemed to really get under Demeter's green skin.

"Of _course_ it is.." The goddess exhaled slowly, placing a small pudgy hand to her huge chest and allowing herself to calm down, letting the icy frost on her crown to melt away.

"But I am curious, just what would you do?" Hecate pressed the question again making Demeter frown a little before shaking her head and picking up her spoon once more..

"I suppose I would have no choice but to go and seek an intervention from Zeus. He always was the one of us able to get Hades to fall in line.." The large green goddess sighed reluctantly, thinking on the whole thing as she returned to her pot of preserve on the stove. She knew that Posideon didn't hold the same level of sway and even though he probably could reason with Hades, his fiery brother probably wouldn't take him very seriously. "Thankfully I don't have to go down that route. After everything that happened with Hercules, who knows how Zeus would react." There was a genuine look of worry that flickered over her cornflower blue eyes. She didn't want to think about the damage such an intervention could cause, Hades could be volatile at the best of times and didn't like gods interference in his home domain.

_...That's what you think... _Hecate mused towards herself, remaining silent as a slight smirk spread across her sharp features as she watched her friend now remove the pot of preserve from the heat..

* * *

**Little Notes: **

**Apologies for taking over a month with this chapter. I have literally had no time to write as both work and life have been incredibly busy. The times I have tried to write I just haven't been able to write, the cursor just flashes as I'm just too drained to think.. Things won't be slowing down since the Christmas period is here. Although work will be less busy I like to make Christmas hampers with lots of homemade items in them and I do have a couple of visits and plans. This also is why the chapter is a little short too, it's not as long as I would like but this was a Hecate-centric chapter as I haven't done a huge amount of writing on her at this moment and this was really just to set the stage for her plan and get the ball rolling.. **

**My next step is to start writing my 50th review one-short which I haven't started, another testament to how my life has just taken over.. Since it's going to be a comedic fix and not very serious I hope that it should be easy to write as these type of one-shots never take me long to write and Im hoping to punch it out before the weekend (fingers crossed)..**

**Stay tuned...**

**A~Teal**


	14. The 'Abduction' of Persephone

**Plight of Persephone**

_Ok people, you know the score, I do not own Hercules, Disney does and even though they have not issued plans for a live action redo, give it time. Everything else seems to be getting the treatment so I wouldn't be shocked if it happened. And since Disney aren't entertaining the idea of a remake, I decided I would. Don't worry, you do not need to have read any of my other stories to read this one and the original is NOT going anywhere, it stays here where it belongs.. I do own this version of Persephone and all other original characters and places that come up, permission and advice is always given to those who want to use them but do tell me if you use my characters so I may view and comment on your work.. Just like the original I will be basing this story around Greek myths and twisting them around just like Disney did, I will also be reworking some of_ _the original plot lines.. Please review and let me know your thoughts.. Thank you for your time. Enjoy! _

* * *

**Reviews:**

**Sharkeygirl: I hadn't forgotten about it, I promise. Just been busy.. **

**Herbalwolf: Yup, the witch is definitely up to know good.. I'm kinda glad she didn't or this story wouldn't exist.. **

**Middas: If you read my old stories and liked them then I'm happy, though it's not necessary for this one. I know a lot of folk don't want to read so many chapters and I don't blame them. I'm just happy to be writing again even if the updates are not as regular as I would like..**

**Angel of Hunky-Doryness: Thank you! And sorry for the late response, I'm so happy you like where the story is going. Think this story will be a slow burner. There are a lot of players and I really want the relationship of our two leads to be organic. I feel like they are still in the friendship zone with a bit of mild flirty banter and there is a long way to go before any real romance develops. But glad you like Narcy, think his part will be kind of small but he and Cyane are definitely a couple of my favourites. I want Persephone's friends to play a more active role this time around..**

* * *

_**Chapter Twelve: The "Abdution" of Persephone**_

"Oy vey..." Hades drawled heavily facepalming at the golden-blonde haired goddess before him. "Hello? Your supposed to be getting mad. C'mon, smite 'em already!" He flared up an angry shade of orange at the much younger goddess' lack of reaction. So far Basic Minion Torture was becoming somewhat of a joke as the youthful looking goddess was refusing to smite Pain and Panic without a good reason to. Both imps were stood in the middle of the dark tiled stone floor of the throne room watching their irked boss arguing with Persephone as she merely looked uncomfortable, twisting her dainty fingers and flicking her long blonde hair.

"But they haven't done anything to irritate me, _yet_." Persephone replied looking unsure and unwilling to punish his two minions for nothing.

"What, you need them to attack you first. _Boys!_" Hades barked at the two imps. Both jump startled at being addressed, Pain flashed a nervous but maniacal grin while Panic appeared to be hyperventilating at the shock, breathing so fast that his chest looked like it would implode under the stress. One swift punch in the back from his magenta partner with flop of mauve hair seemed to make the stick thin teal imp gasp and exhale deeply, calming a little.

"No, no!" Persephone stepped in front of Hades while this was going on, waving her arms dismissively. "That's not necessary, really." Her words make both Pain and Panic's eyes flash a bemused look at each other as she spoke unsure if they were supposed to still attack.

"_Urh_.. Seriously, I'm tryin' t'get a reaction from ya Seph. Your even harder to rile than Demeter!" Hades snapped back in frustration as he had never been very good at sweet talking the Goddess of Nature and boy, had he _tried!_ He had schmoozed her, reasoned with her and once even tried to blackmail her after returning an infant Persephone in the hopes of using it to make her bring in Spring a little late so he could boost his numbers. None of it worked. The green-skinned goddess was just unmovable and seemed incredibly perceptive to his ploys.

"_Pfft_.. No she's not." Came a friendly good natured voice from high above the pair making both gods and imps crane their heads upwards. Hermes who was sitting on the blue-flamed, black jagged candelabra with a devious glint in his eyes. "You just don't know what buttons t'push Flame Top." His grin widened in some amusement.

"_Hermes_.." Persephone's look darkened into a glower, the ends of her blonde hair starting to flicker.

"_Oh-hoh!_ And you _do_." A crafty look snaked it's way across Hades' face hardly missing the change in the white sskinned goddess' demeanour. "Let's talk, you can dish the dirt, so to speak."

"_What_.. Oh, no, no, _no!_" Persephone whipped her head around to the blue flamed Lord of the Dead frowning deeper. "You _dare_ tell him anything and—" The youthful irate goddess whipped around blonde hair blazing to the blue skinned god who had lowered himself to the ground only to jump back at her fury.

"_Woah_, chill out. I won't say anything. You know you can trust me babe." Hermes interrupted trying to appease her, not wanting to be on the receiving end of her anger. He had experienced that before and the results were... unpleasant.

"Now _this_, is more like it! Aim towards them and vent, trust me my _sweet_, you'll feel better." Hades declared brightly pointing to the imps then resting both hands on the soft curve of her shoulders. As much as he would _love_ to know what 'dirt' Hermes had on the currently golden flame-haired goddess, who's long flames billowed outwards making her look like some lithe but deadly flower. The god's full blue lips widened as his golden eyes narrowed in reverence, his infatuated mind couldn't help but note that she looked utterly breathtaking in the passion of fury as her chest heaved with every breath she took. That depraved and more perverse side of his mind that was aroused, secretly wouldn't mind that wrath being fixed on him. He would wager that she would be red-hot and mind-blowing in the sa— _No! Don't think about that, don't think about that, don't think about that!_

Hades' eyes shut tight trying to blot the internal battle to sate his momentary dark slip into lust as Persephone, who only wanted the void of anger-fuelled raw power building inside her to leave, raised a hand and flicked her wrist towards the imps. Both Pain and Panic had shrunk back with a deep inhale of fear and shut their eyes bracing themselves for impact. They had willingly given themselves up for this target practise, they understood that their boss was only looking out for Persephone's best interests while she was down here. He couldn't protect her all the time. The Underworld was a dangerous place, far more dangerous than both mortals and gods gave it credit for being. No-one down here just gave themselves or their services willingly, their favour had to be won and to do that the goddess would have to toughen up.

Hermes, who had been on the receiving end of Persephone's bad moods many a time in their centuries of friendship, winked his eyes momentarily shut. But not before witnessing the look of delight on Hades' face that softened into a warm and tender look. If he had not witnessed this look of intense longing before on Olympus when the fiery god had the rarity of passing his best friend's path he wouldn't have believed it. How was it that these two could not see that they had the hots for one another when it was clear as day for anyone else to witness was beyond him. Instantly both imps imploded into bursts of white orbs with cries of surprise. These orbs propelled through the north facing wall of the House of Hades which faced outwards to the river Styx.

"_Ooh_, nice shootin' Seph." The small blue god drawled having zipped over to the huge circular window, lent on it and narrowed his eyes in amusement watching both Pain and Panic rematerialise out of the orbs smacking into the rock cavernous wall opposite and dropping into the river Styx..

* * *

Both imps spluttered as their small heads broke the surface and they hacked up the unpleasant tasting water before swimming in a front crawl as quickly as the could to reach the shore of the Styx bank nearest them, wanting to be out the water before some wayward souls attached themselves to their tiny frames or some river dwelling nasty decided to attempt to drown them.

They panted heavily not used to such brutal aqua aerobics this early in the day, Pain going as far as to collapse on his large stomach with his long purple tongue lolling out. Next to him his non-identical twin was scurrying in a circle trying to dislodge something slimy that was holding onto him with his eyes tight shut, not wishing to open them and confirm that it was a soul as he suspected.

"_Eurgh! _Something is clinging to me, quick, getit off!" Panic whined out bouncing on the spot timidly and this made his heavier-set rose-pink coloured partner grimace with disgust. The skinny anxiety-ridden imp had never been good when it came to touching dead souls, he usually made his bigger, braver brother do it while he held the clipboard and took notes. When they did touch him he usually screamed like a girl and dived behind his wider-set partner.

"_Eww_, hold still Panic." Pain sat up and grabbed the transparent soul of his skinny teal brother's back as he stood there trembling with his hands over his huge bug eyes. Once those small claw-like pink fingers had the soul which had been a confused looking old mortal with a blank stare Pain tossed it back into the river exhaling lazily, "You can look now, it's gone."

Panic winked open one eyes cautiously as he lowered his hands before his smile turned and his drooping horn-like ears raised as he sighed in relief.

"Thanks bro."

"Yeh, yeh.. Your sucha wuss sometimes, y'know that." Pain rolled his eyes.

"But it's all slimy and I hate it when they move." Panic shuddered at the very thought.

"C'mon. I'll getcha a pomegranate smoothie to calm your nerves." The pink up uttered gesturing his still somewhat freaked out brother to follow him. "I doubt the boss will want us while Hermes is here." He added unconcerned as they began moving towards the staff canteen which was near the chambers of Underworld Court of Justice.

"Hmm, wonder why he's here anyway." Panic wondered with a look back up at the window of the room they had been ejected out of minutes earlier.

"Who cares, he's Hades' problem." Pain responded waving a hand dismissively making his skinny teal brother nod thoughtfully then scurry to catch up as the pink imp was further ahead.

* * *

"Ooh.. Chi-wa-wa!" Hades declared brightly, his blue flaming hair whitening in delight as it fanned around his shoulders, winking a yellow eye shut momentarily then giving a low impressed whistle. "Although, personally, I wouldn't have gone with the brightly coloured orbs but still, my compliments on the smitin'. Your a natural." He added in a smooth gushing tone and greasy smile curving his full blue lips, momentarily forgetting about the small blue deity in the room with them.

"Whaddid ya expect? She was voted most likely to take after _you _in our final Yearscroll." The blue Messenger God replied grinning, turning back to them both and drawing Hades' attention back to him, wiping the smile clean off his expression leaving an unemotional blank expression in its place as his excess flames vanished instantly.

"Why are you even _here_ anyway?" Persephone asked Hermes pouting and putting both hands on her hips, still smarting about the fact he had just burst in here for seemingly nothing more than to wind her up.

"Well, actually I came to tell ya that I figured out who has been spreadin' those rumours about you guys, with a little help from Narcissus, of course." Hermes grinned widely hoping that this would be enough to appease his best friend before she allowed Hades to rough him up.

"_And?_" Both Hades and Persephone responded in sync with the same exasperated tone and narrow-eyed look before glancing at each other in momentary surprise, their eyes turned back to the short blue god in crisp white linen.

"It's Hecate," Hermes grinned in a simpering fashion making Persephone cock her head in confusion as Hades exhaled heavily.

"_Why_, am I not surprised."

"Huh?" Persephone blinked. "Why would she spread rumours about me? That's not what mother asked her to do!" The white skinned goddess frowned irritated by the fact that this was betraying her mother's request. As much as she disliked Hecate herself she would never use it to influence her mother's friendship with the witch but she still expected her to be loyal and a true friend.

"This ain't about you, it's a plot against me.." The fiery god growled, his eyes narrowing darkly as his hair jumped up yellow as his face tinged into a lighter orange.

"That was the conclusion I came to too, big guy." Hermes nodded grimly looking serious. "I'll keep my ears open and let you know if I hear anything on the grapevine that will help you figure out her scheme. I gotta fly, running late for an appointment with Zeus, just wanted to give you some notice first." He was about to flutter off when one smokey tendril wrapped itself around his arm and Hermes found himself hauled back down in front of Hades.

"Wait? Why do you wanna help me?" Hades kinked a brow in confusion. He and Hermes had never been particularly close, sure, he had been on friendly terms with the small blue god's nymph mother Maia back in the days he had been seeing her good friend Leuce but they hadn't spoken since the dyrad's untimely death.

"Cause you have my best friend in your employ and friends look out for one another. As long as she is here I'll be rootin' for you too. Now, if you don't _mind_.." Hermes jerked his arm free, exchanging a smile with Persephone, who's expression softened at his declaration of friendship and loyalty to her. "I'm gone babe." The moment he was loose the small god vanished out of the window into a neon blue blur.

"So, is bird brain for real about helpin' us?" The blue-flamed god's large black pupils swivelled around to the youthful beauty next to him. In response Persephone slapped his chest with a small pout before it twisted into a smile as she side turned to face him.

"Of course. I've known him most of my life. He'll lie about a lot of stuff but not when it comes to helping me." The blonde goddess replied lightly and these words made Hades exhale heavily.

"If you say so babe." He moved passed Persephone towards the huge map of the Grecian world settling himself down and summoning a grey figurine that was carved to resemble Hecate. He set it down before waving one hand over the bird summoning an array of pieces. Out of curiosity Persephone edged closer to see what the hulking blue-flamed god was staring intently at. As she peeped over his right shoulder she could see a few chess pieces circled around as Hecate and her the winged-wolf minions were set aside. His own chess piece was sitting with hers beside him and Hermes' white piece was also present a little away from them.

"You don't trust many gods, do you?" She uttered softly seeing that they were no other pieces in 'play' at the moment.

"Hmh, they've never given me a reason to." Hades replied off-handedly wondering vaguely just what kind of scheme that the witch was trying to pull now, knowing that she intended to use Persephone as a pawn in whatever it was. There was no way in Tartarus he would allow that to happen.

"Is that why you tried to overthrown Zeus with the Titans?" The blonde goddess asked in the same tentative tone, knowing that she was prying further than she should be but curious all the same.

"Eh. Kinda." The blue-flamed god replied, choosing not to go into the full details of why he did what he did. It was done, there was no way to change it and he felt it wasn't a necessary subject to discuss. She fell into a short silence which he was grateful for, it showed that she respected him enough not to push the subject further.

"Hades, do you trust me?" Persephone eventually asked twiddling her fingers, her voice wavering a little as she was unsure if she really was ready for the answer. She was almost positive that there was no way she had done anything in the short time she had been here to secure that level of faith from him.

"For now, at least." Hades eventually replied and his words made the white-skinned goddess blink her lovely olive-green eyes in surprise.

"Really?" She squeaked out in a bright tone with a grin.

"Look Persephone, don't take this personally, ok. It's my issue—_Oof!_" The blue flames on Hades's head rippled as she threw herself at him, hugging him tightly around the shoulders with a smile.

"That's more than I expected." The tiny goddess cooed then kissed his cheek automatically making the huge blue-skinned god blink then smirk. He had never trusted any surface god before. They all broke their promises in the end and had turned their backs on him, leaving him to the dark recesses of this gloomy underworld realm. He fully expected her to do the same thing once this internship gig of hers was over with. Though part of him wondered if she could truly leave at all if she was hearing the prayers of the dead, only he could since he was the Ruler of the Dead. Why was she getting them? And the Elysian Fields souls were so unusually active lately, something had certainly started stirring up in that realm, like someone had lit a fire in it. But what?

It was like the whole cosmos was screaming at him but he couldn't hear all the words.

* * *

"Your cutting it _fine_ Hermes.." The booming voice of Zeus filled the open-air coliseum the moment the tiny blue god making him wince as the enormous ten foot god threw him a displeased look.

"Yeh, ah, sorry 'bout that Big Z.. Had urgent business in the Underworld to attend to." The Messenger God replied with a nervous grin. He was rarely late for his appointments with Zeus, mostly because the Lord of Olympus always suspected that he was up to his old tricks if he was, apparently now was no different. The golden tanned god threw his tiny herald a suspicious sky-blue eyed gaze while stroking his beard.

"And what business was that?" The white-haired Lord of Olympus asked immediately, kinking a brow unable to see any reason as to why Hermes would need to go to the Underworld and consort with his little brother Hades unless he sent him there personally.

"Well, ya see.. Funny story.." Hermes chuckled uneasily, swallowing thickly as he rubbed the back of his neck but was, fortunately, cut off from having to explain himself.

_"Father! Father, please! I need to speak to you urgently."_ A very familiar voice from the mortal realm broke through the cumulus nimbus cloud that Hermes and his boss where sitting on, making both gods look down.

"_Phew! _Saved by the Hercinator.." Hermes uttered in relief but then grinned sheepishly realising that had come out his mouth and added, "Ah-hah, I mean, you better see what's the hub-bub."

"We'll discuss this when I get back." Zeus stated firmly vanishing in a blast of blinding white light and purely because his curiosity was eating him up inside did Hermes zip down in a swift blur of neon blue..

* * *

"Hercules.. My boy, it's good to see you again. How are things with Megera, she seems like a smart girl. Pretty too, which always helps.." He flashed a fatherly smile down to his favourite son. Not that he would ever let that on to his other children, he tried to be fair.

"Ah-hah, yeh. Things are great but I needed to ask about this story going around Greece?" The eighteen year old Hero of Greece ruffled his own red hair gazing unsurely down at the Greekly World News scroll he was holding before his blue eyes returned to his father who was still droning on.

"Good, that's good. She reminds me a bit of your mother back in the Hellenic period. Did I tell you the story of how we met?" The marble white statue of Zeus looked surprisingly misty-eyed.

"Father! Has Demeter's daughter been kidnapped by Hades?" Hercules' voice cut in on his reminiscing making the omnipresent statue of Zeus smash a fist into the side of his stone throne.

"WHAAAT?!" He bellowed out making his entire temple rumble causing the mortal hero to wobble and Pegasus who had been casually drinking from the nearby trough to whiny in alarm, spread his wings and fly out to the nearest tree.

"_Whoa!_ Herc, let me see that!" Hermes shot inside the temple just in time to snatch the news scroll out of the young hero's hand and speed read the story. "It's a false alarm chief, this story is fake news." He called up as his rose tinted glasses turned towards his boss and Ruler of the Cosmos.

"It is?" Zeus' expression softened.

"So Persephone isn't in the Underworld?" Hercules asked curiously.

"Huh? Oh, no. That part is true.." Hermes replied casually rolling up the news scroll and handing it back to the young hero. "She's doing an internship with Hades, helping him get back on track after that little trip down the Phlegethon ya sent him on, if that doesn't sound too nutty." He grinned casually.

"She is? Does Demeter know about this?" The huge white marble statue of Zeus questioned with a kink in his brow.

"Of course. They have an agreement, Persephone stays down there until Spring then she will return." The small blue god in crisp white linen toga fluttered upwards to be nearer his boss.

"_Hrrm_.. I'll have to have a word with Demeter about that.." Zeus muttered to his herald with a skeptical frown, doubting that this was a good idea but feeling that it was too late to stop it now.

"So.. I don't have to go down and save her then?" Hercules asked as the muscly youth's eyes swivelled back and forth between Hermes and his statue-father. His words made the small blue god chuckle with mirth, his winged sandals dropping him a little as he laughed.

"Haha, _save her! _She'd probably punch you if you tried.. Our Seph despises the muscle-bound hero types. She's not a fan of the whole damsel in destress bit.." Hermes grinned settling himself onto the arm of Zeus' stone throne.

"I wouldn't bother them son, best you just leave things alone. I think you've done enough interfering in the Underworld, wouldn't want to push the Fates. Besides, I doubt Hades would let anything bad happen to her.." The Lord of Olympus responded and these word made Hercules scowl in disbelief.

"But Father, _he tried to kill me!_" The youthful hero burst out in shock. "He has all the gods in chains! He put _you under a mountain!_"

"Yes, yes.. But this is different.." Zeus responded unconcerned, waving all this off as if it were nothing to be concerned about.

"How?" Hercules looked annoyed.

"He's dealing with Demeter.." The white marble statue explained with a grin. "She could make things very difficult for him in his domain of the dead. Their jobs are linked, y'know.. Trust me, your better off just steering clear of this one son." He could still remember the dreadful famine that Demeter had caused the first time she had lost her daughter, it was ingrained deep in his mind just like every other god in the cosmos. Nobody dared to upset her again.

"Well, if your sure.." Hercules exhaled heavily, somewhat disappointed that he wasn't going to be able to rescue the goddess but partly relieved too as both Meg and Phil had not wanted him to go either. In fact it was Phil that had talked him into checking with his father first, now he was glad he had.

Who knows what would have happened if he had just barrelled down there without thinking..

* * *

**Little Notes:**

**Hey guys, I haven't forgotten about this story, I promise. I was just busy with other things but now I'm back with this new chapter. I hope you all like it. It has a couple links here to the original story too but remember the last line, it links nicely into the next chapter!!**

**Stay tuned..**

**A~Teal**


	15. The Way of Ancient Greece

**Plight of Persephone**

_Ok people, you know the score, I do not own Hercules, Disney does and even though they have not issued plans for a live action redo, give it time. Everything else seems to be getting the treatment so I wouldn't be shocked if it happened. And since Disney aren't entertaining the idea of a remake, I decided I would. Don't worry, you do not need to have read any of my other stories to read this one and the original is NOT going anywhere, it stays here where it belongs.. I do own this version of Persephone and all other original characters and places that come up, permission and advice is always given to those who want to use them but do tell me if you use my characters so I may view and comment on your work.. Just like the original I will be basing this story around Greek myths and twisting them around just like Disney did, I will also be reworking some of_ _the original plot lines.. Please review and let me know your thoughts.. Thank you for your time. Enjoy! _

* * *

**Reviews:**

**Sharkeygirl: Well, for Hercules it is but there are plenty of other heroes in the Ancient Greek World that aren't lucky enough to have gods as relatives. And Zeus honestly didn't know she was there, he hasn't been very active in Persephone's life or taken much interest in her. He is probably more concerned with Demeter than he is with her, after all she was also chained up with the others during his takeover bid.**

**Angel of Hunky-Doryness: Well, Herc is only ONE hero in the Ancient Greek world. He has been forewarned but there are others who haven't hit the big time.. And things are about to go South for the Deadly Double Act pretty soon, don't worry..**

**TinkStar87: I'm glad you enjoy it, feel free to leave any comments or ideas you have, I'm sure you've noticed that I reply to every one in the following chapter.**

**Taralucent98: Honestly, as far as I'm concerned Descendants is not canon and has no place in any of my stories. It was written by writers who may CLAIM it is canon but since every Disney movie is set in a different time and place that is physically impossible. Personally, the idea that ALL the Disney villains could be imprisoned in one place is ludicrous, never mind the rest of the nonsensical plots of the three movies. None of the top bosses have never claimed it is canon so it's not, it's just another franchise that can be ignored by those that consider it pointless. Let's be honest here, if Mal ever met my Persephone she would be dead. There is no way Hades would be able to have an illegitimate child without her knowing (since all nature spirits are her mother's minions) ****then be permitted to keep it unless it was face up in the Styx as a permanent reminder by his wife not to stray again, further emphasising her title as 'Iron Queen'. In my stories that cross other Disney canons Maleficent and Persephone have a mutual respect for each other, they aren't friends as Persephone is not a villain and will often help heroes when she feels the villains aren't playing fair. Maleficent is also aware that Persephone is more powerful than her and can turn her into a plant at any given moment, leaving her in that form until she ultimately frosts herself. A sort of poetic justice to the good fairies who's flowers she frosts out of spite..**

* * *

_A~N: Hey guys, I know right now we live in an uncertain time as the Coronavirus sweeps our global nations and a lot of us are being forced to change our lifestyles to fit in with the new restrictions. I just wanted to write a little note to reassure you all that while I am lucky enough to live in Scotland where the full effects have not yet hit us, only 6 deaths and 266 cases at the time of writing this, that I fully sympathise with anyone who's situation is much more dire than mine. Though things are getting more and more worrisome as each day passes the British Government have offered some relief to businesses by retaining staff and paying wages despite massive closures.. I hope that you all are keeping yourselves and your families safe by following the advice given to you and that you are able to find all the supplies you need to get through this.. I feel reviews, p.m's are probably more relivent now than ever, more-so as I would love to know that those who follow my stories are ok and supporting themselves and if they do need to talk they know that they can always hit me up with a P.M anytime.._

_...sending love.._

_ Agent~of~Teal_

* * *

_**Chapter Fifteen: The Ways of Ancient Greece**_

Things in Attica had been very slow going for the newly crowned King Theseus. The huge northern state of the Ancient Grecian World included the city of Athens and as such there was already a democratic parliament in place that took care of most of the hard decisions. He mostly just had to act as a figurehead, signing agreements and meeting with other heads of state while spearheading charity work and doing his best to be a man of the people. Although he was beloved by those that he served, having never viewed himself as a ruler but more of a tool for his people to use to better themselves. He missed his hero days as the Grim Avenger. He still had the suit. Yes, he'd shelved his alter ego but part of him missed the caped crusader. Especially in these new turbulent times as his father had thrown himself into the Agean Sea, a mixture of grief and insanity of which his son didn't fully understand the reasoning behind. Still, it didn't change the fact that he was dead and the effect of his passing had ripples through the state like the aftershock of an earthquake, hitting his people hard.

Theseus has always been considered a bit of a 'Party Prince', a handsome royal with a roguish smile and a cheeky attitude who liked to have a good time. His buff body, glistening biceps and dirty sandy blonde hair with piercing deep blue eyes never made him short of swooning female admirers. There was always a new squeeze on his arms when he attended charity parties and social events but no amount of loose women, endless booze or charity work could hide the drive behind his lost desire to be a see as a hero in the eyes of his people.

Initially, he had trained with a gruff satyr called Philoctetes who had given him many great hints and tips but his serious and hard nosed approach to training clashed with the young prince's laid back, carefree attitude. This caused a lot of arguments and friction that eventually came to a head when Theseus had faced off against the Minotaur of Crete after which both trainer and potential hero parted ways. It turned out Theseus just wasn't the kind of hero the gruff old satyr had been looking for. He doubted he would make it to the big time.. Of course he had met the satyr's latest hero Hercules who had, in fact, made it recently as Greece's big named hero. He was a nice guy with the right attitude for heroism, would go out of his way to help someone. Still, the new-found stories of his success didn't help smoulder the flames of his unfulfilled dreams..

This particular morning he was having breakfast alone out on the veranda of his luxurious palace home that looked out over Athens. His meal mostly consisted of fresh fruits and bread with a little olive oil for dipping and a fresh glass of goats milk. The sandy haired prince unfurled the Greekly World News scroll to find the headline in huge bold font filled the top of the papyrus page.

**Demeter's Daughter in Dominion of Dead: Is Gaia's surface of Greece doomed if the fertility goddess fails to return?**

"Hmm, looks like this might be a job for Hercules..." Theseus murmured to himself, taking a sip of his milk before reaching for some grapes then adding in a low sober tone, "However, if he fails to do anything perhaps it's time for the Grim Avenger to rise from his slumber and once more take on the forces of evil to ensure justice prevails." His deep blues narrowed and he rubbed his chiselled jaw musingly..

* * *

...At that same moment deep in the depths of Ais, the domain of Hades, the lessons continued with the blonde youthful goddess Persephone now sitting cross-legged on the huge round map of the Grecian world witty the Lord of the Dead himself stood in front of her, bent over slightly with his palms resting on the edges of the map itself. Her eyes were closed revealling her smokey grey eyeshadow with a hint of shimmer and thick black kohl winged eyeliner. The imps had earned a reprieve from Basic Minion Torture as Hades had switched focus onto prayers and summons and had sent them away to deal with the steadily growing numbers of new arrivals. He had taken time out of his increasingly busy schedule to start these crucial lessons, not just because the Fates demanded it but also because his own interest was peeked at why the dead could possibly be beseeching Persephone in the first place.

A small frown furrowed her smooth brow as her lips twisted.

"Who is Praxidyke?" Her vivid green eyes suddenly opened looking very confused into the yellow eyes of the much older god in front of her. "They keep asking for her."

"It's probably just a name they have given you. I get called other names and titles by some of the residents down here." Hades shrugged unconcerned, it wasn't uncommon for a god or goddess to have secondary names and titled given to them by those under their dominion. The very fact that the dead had given Persephone a secondary title was further proof that she belonged down here and may ultimately mean that she belonged down here with him, whether she wanted to be or not. This may cause problems in Spring when she was due to go back, he would have to seek counsel on this matter and unfortunately, there was only one place he could go for that..

"Like what?" Persephone asked curiously, unaware of the inner turmoil in his mind at this innocent utterance of a name that was about to cause some serious legal complications to her own situation.

"That doesn't matter. What I need you to do is try and sense where these voices are coming from." Hades shook his head roughly, trying to shake the thoughts away as his more pressing desire was to know what these dead souls wanted. That small frown furrowed her neat brow once more as she concentrated on the voices swirling her head.

"Nearby." She uttered softly before an arm raised and she pointed a small, slim white finger in the direction she was sensing the voices were coming from. "Over there.."

"Uh... Persephone." Hades responded after moving his head to follow where she was looking. "The only souls there are the ones in the Elysian Fields. I have no jurisdiction over there." His large eyes rolled back to her face in time to see her eyes open in shock and confusion.

"What?" The white skinned goddess gasped out, she looked confused towards him. "But... Why would they be praying to me? I can't do anything to help them. Why do they think I can?"

"The fact that you can even get prayers from souls in the Elysian Fields in the first place is the bigger concern to me at this moment." He exhaled heavily as he straightened looking a little worn. "I'm gonna have to go talk to, _ugh_, Zeus.." He pulled a face at the very idea, his blue flames rippled turning a slightly irate yellow considering he hadn't actually faced his brother since the Titan 'incident' that summer and Hades doubted that his older brother would be truly interested in anything he said, even if it was on behalf of Persephone.

"What do you mean?" The blonde goddess frowned unsurely, she uncrossed her legs and moved them into a more dignified position, remaining sprawled out across the map of Greece watching the bluish-grey skinned god think before her.

"Well, since Zeus owns that realm he is the only one that can grant you access to it—"

"No, that I understand but what do you mean about getting the prayers in the first place? What's wrong with that?" Persephone had interrupted him, something that would usually make him flare up in fury but Hades restrained himself well as he needed her to understand.

"Persephone, as you know, gods only get prayers from those that they are meant to hold dominion over._ You _are getting prayers from the dead in the one realm that I can't govern. Not _only_ that but you have _also_ been given another name and most likely a title along with it. If this is indeed the case you may never be able to _truly_ return to the surface to Demeter.." He replied and braced himself for the fireworks, expecting her to lose it big time over the possibility of her staying over spring.

"Oh.. I see." Her voice was soft as a small pit formed in her stomach, she pushed that pesky stray lock of blonde that always dislodged from its spot behind her ear, the curse of a thick head of hair. "D-do you mind if we cut this short, I just need to have a moment to process all this." Persephone added standing up on the huge round map of Greece, her short stature making her now a similar height to the incredibly tall god in front of her.

"Yeh, sure. Go ahead Seph. I need to try and arrange a visit with Zeus over the matter anyway." Hades uttered in a similar downbeat tone very aware of the fact that she paused only long enough to get her heels on before she vanished out in a swirl of orbs leaving him alone..

* * *

She wasn't sure how long she had been sitting by the Pool of Lethe but Persephone had been gazing thoughtfully into the murky waters of the churning surface. Her mind moving as fast as the swirling waters as she processed everything that was happening. Was she really this close to getting a purpose? But what kind of life would she have down here under the rule of Hades if that was the case? Did she even want to live down here? Was she prepared to give up her life on the surface, such as it was, and move down here permanently? And would she even be allowed? Considering her mother had always insisted she was a nature goddess and destined to be a part of the bigger cycle of life, she was unsure..

Her thoughts untangled completely at the sound of rustling and her star-white aura brightened as the youthful goddess stood up, taking a defensive stance, thinking she was going to have to defend herself as she was taught to by Hades. His warning about this place being dangerous ringing in her ears. Her guarded dropped a little when a small nymph appeared out of the foliage surrounding her. She had a pretty white dress on that modestly covered her pale green skin.

"Minthe?" Persephone kinked a brow in confusion, exhaling but remaining guarded as she knew it was strange that her friend wasn't hibernating with the other nymphs. "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be slumbering back in Elis?" She queried and her question made the vivid green haired nymph with small white flowers straighten and turn her hazel eyes towards the goddess who was only a little taller than her.

"I know, I should be asleep but I feel terrible about our fight. I-I wanted to make amends.. I'm sorry I was rude to you. Can we be friends again?" The small nymph aid in her soft breathy voice, her brown eyes dipping low to the ground.

"I'm sorry too Spearmint. You never told me you had feelings for Hades. If I knew I would have been more considerate. We really are just working together, I'm on an internship, that's it. I doubt he has any feelings towards me, I'm only here over the winter to help him out." Persephone replied softly and the small nymph nodded before sweeping forwards and hugging the blonde goddess. Persephone welcomed the hug, embracing her friend warmly, her head sinking down at the emotional enormity of the situation. She had stayed up passed the first day of Fall and made the dangerous trip down just to apologise to her? She was so touched by this move and couldn't help but let out a tear as her friend held her close.

"I know, I should have realised sooner.." Minthe uttered softly, her brown eyes opened as she hugged Persephone close and gazed over her shoulder off into the darkness a moment, her smile vanishing for a brief moment before it forcefully reappeared as the goddess pulled back smiling.

"Hibernate here Minthe.." Persephone said earnestly.

"Are you sure? I don't want to impose.." Minthe looked uncomfortably around before finding herself forestalled.

"I insist!" The goddess added sternly. "It will be too cold by the time you make it back to Elis and you can rest here in this garden without being disturbed. I can guarantee it." She added then turned away and pointed to a grouping of dull and gloomy coloured plant in a quiet corner at the back of the grove by the Fall of Lethe. "There is a quiet spot over there you will like, I know how much you like the soothing sound of running water to help you sleep."

"Well.." Her eyes glanced off again before she nodded, her hazel eyes turning back and she nodded again as if confirming her choice. "Ok, I will hibernate here." Minthe smiled then moved over to the spot before stretching out then shrivelling up in a shimmer of green into a small leafy plant.

"Hmh. Sleep tight Spearmint.." She added softly with a gentle smile before walking away with a happy spring in her step, pleased that she and her close friend were back on happy terms. Hopeful that things on that front, at least, we're back on track. Obviously she wasn't going to enlighten her friend on the fact that she may not actually be able to leave the Underworld if it was, in fact, true that she held dominion down here. Though if she did end up staying down here with a new title and a job she knew she would be able to hire some underlings of her own, most likely trusted nymphs that could help..

* * *

...A week later...

The fiery god found himself exhaling heavily as he was stood in front of the golden gates of Olympus looking as if, for once, this was the last place he had wanted to be. He had been lucky that Zeus was even willing to speak to him though he had picked a time to hold the meeting when Hera has the other gods invited to one of their meet and greet mixers, which he was glad to get out of. Nobody ever seemed that pleased to see him at the event, probably because he often had a scheme to get more dead souls up his sleeve. To avoid the rest of the Council from learning that Zeus was bending his own ruling by allowing Hades to set foot on Olympus when he was actually banished.

"Hades, take a seat, give that flame a rest.." The white bearded god said sombrely, gesturing to the seat in front of him. "How are things in the Underworld? Is Persephone running you ragged, I hear she's a real live wire, that one?" Zeus chuckled lightly leaning back in his seat while Hades looked suspiciously around. There was no-one around. Not even Hermes, who was usually present at meetings like this.

"Uh, yeh, dark and fully dead souls, y'know.. The usual. Where is everyone?" The fiery god turned back looking to his older golden-tanned brother in some confusion.

"The monthly meet and greet mixer." Zeus exhaled with a groan. "You know how I hate those things." His sky blue eyes in some agrivation looking as though he was greatful to have an excuse to get out of it. He was glad to get away from the bickering of Athena and Ares as well as the ever watchful eyes of his wife.

"Mhm.. I'm surprised your letting me meet you here considering you banished me." Hades kinked a brow with the edge of a smirk. Zeus' expression turned guilty before he clicked his tongue.

"That wasn't me. That was the council. I admit I was angry that you had to go and drag Hercules into it but what he did to you was enough in my book. There was unrest, I had to agree or they would have voted to unseat me.."

"Heh, yeh, well. That's politics bro." Hades shrugged less concerned than Zeus expected him to be.

"Indeed." The white haired god replied and a spot of silence awkwardly befell the pair. "You never answered my question. How is Persephone coping downstairs?" He broke the silence with a somber look to his little brother.

"Yeh. See, that is what I need to talk to you about.." Hades began to reply, he needed to chose his words carefully..

* * *

The tiny little spring had been sitting in the Grove of Lethe for a little over a week but she had not been slumbering like she had agreed with Persephone, far from it. She had been listening carefully to every bit of news that she could hear from her spot.

When nobody was about the small nymph would return to her usual form and meet two hulking winged wolves that would be waiting for her at the edge of the Acheron where it joined into the Styx. There she would share with them everything that she had heard that day...

**_Little Notes: _**

**_Hey guys, long wait I know and the chapter isn't quiet as long as my usual chapters. With everything that's been going on lately I have been somewhat distracted by everything that is going on in the world. Hence the author's note at the beginning of this.._**

**_Anyway, lots of plot points happening at once here. We have the return of Minthe, obviously not all she seems to be. We have the introduction of Theseus a plot point from the original that is coming back into play, although how things play out are going to be different from the original I promise. We also have the return of his Grim Avenger persona from the series which I have kept the Batman-like backstory up with him. Don't want to give to much away.._**

**_Stay tuned.._**

**_A~Teal_**


	16. A Matrimonial Problem

**Plight of Persephone**

_Ok people, you know the score, I do not own Hercules, Disney does and even though they have not issued plans for a live action redo, give it time. Everything else seems to be getting the treatment so I wouldn't be shocked if it happened. And since Disney aren't entertaining the idea of a remake, I decided I would. Don't worry, you do not need to have read any of my other stories to read this one and the original is NOT going anywhere, it stays here where it belongs.. I do own this version of Persephone and all other original characters and places that come up, permission and advice is always given to those who want to use them but do tell me if you use my characters so I may view and comment on your work.. Just like the original I will be basing this story around Greek myths and twisting them around just like Disney did, I will also be reworking some of_ _the original plot lines.. Please review and let me know your thoughts.. Thank you for your time. Enjoy! _

* * *

**Reviews:**

**Sharkeygirl: Won't give away what happens but the plot with Theseus will be very different and this time, no Peirithous. **

* * *

_A~N: Dedicated to everyone self isolating, in quarantine or under lockdown. Which, let's face it... Is pretty much most of us! _

* * *

_**Chapter Sixteen: A Matrimonial Problem**_

A shadowy figure skulked down through the dark rocky terrain slowly but surely, scoping every corner of his peripheral vision for any sign of movement, poised to draw his sword at the stightest twitch.

"The trek down to the Underworld was long and arduous but for _justice_ the Grim Avenger was willing to face any peril.." The sound of Theseus' voice echoed upwards around the cavernous heights of the Underworld which was so high that the naked eye couldn't see the top due to the unrelenting blackness above. His eyes darted upwards at a sudden noise. He could hear the faint chittering coming down from what could only be some unknown flying creature but as long as they weren't flying down his sword would remain sheathed.

It almost sounded as if they were laughing at him.

Choosing to ignore it, Theseus sneered then rolled his eyes back to where he was walking and moved forwards, pressing on with his mission to secure the damsel of Demeter who seemed to have become foresaken by Greece's Greatest Hero. For whatever reason Hercules was not interested in retrieving Persephone from Hades' grasp. It was confusing considering how he had already bested the Lord of the Dead once before, but maybe that was the problem. This wasn't a challenge for him.

"Justice must prevail.." The young King of Attica declared in a serious tone before stopping dead at the sight that met him as he came out the other side of the caverns he had come down from Gaia's surface. Whatever he had expected to find, it was not a feild of ghostly pink flowers that seemed to glow eerily in the wide open space, dotted with crooked looking white poplar trees that were sprouting with young looking leaves. It was strange. It looked like it was spring down here but it was actually coming to the end of harvest season, winter was almost upon us.

What was going on down here?

"_Ah-ah-ahh!_ I wouldn't be sniffin' those if I were you.." A soft voice sing-songed brightly as the young king had begun to lower himself to smell one of the unusual flowers before straightening and blinking in further surprise at the pale-skinned nymph with bright leafy green hair with small white flowers wound in it. She was smiling sweetly at him in her simple white dress perched on a nearby rock, though he had no idea where she appeared from or why she was even here.

"There are no nymphs in the Underworld!" He exclaimed before gazing at her suspiciously.

"There's at least one!" The river sprite trilled back, momentarily closing her hazel brown eyes. "But seriously, I wouldn't be smelling anything planted here, they are fed from the waters of Lethe. You don't want to be wandering confused for the next milenia like them, do you?" She kinked a neat brow and guestured to the shades that he hadn't noticed until now, their bemused expressions and dazed actions.

"Why are you here nymph, don't your kind usually hibernate through the winter?" Theseus queried, still looking somewhat cautious as to why a spring and summer time creature would want to be here when she was supposed to be in a deep slumber.

"My name is Minthe, not nymph, ok?" The small nymph scowled momentarily before it vanished and her bright smile returned. "Besides, I'm not much of a sleeper. I come down sometimes because it's much warmer here than on the surface during winter—."

_'And to be closer to my beloved Hades.' _Minthe inwardly swooned to herself as she continued to smile sweetly to the former hero and carried on regardless. He didn't need to know that she came down here every winter while the rest of her peers slept and tried to integrate herself into Hades' every day life, without much success but things would change soon if Hecate kept to her end of the deal.

"—I've been waiting for the one who is so brave to come and rescue my friend Persephone from the clutches of the Lord of the Dead." She added privately thinking that this guy did not resemble the 'Hercules-guy' the Wolf brothers had said was coming down. Still, a patsy was still a patsy.. The only thing that matter was that someone fell for the witch's scheme and this guy fit the bill. Maybe it was better if it was some unknown guy...

"If you know where she is being kept, why not show her the way out yourself?" Theseus asked curiously.

"I am merely a river sprite from Elis and the lord and master barely tolerates my presence in his realm as it is. I do not have the power to go against his wishes.." Minthe fluttered her eyes innocently to the young would-be hero, silently pleading him to answer to her friend's plight. Her words were a half truth of course, Hades despised her presence, not that she would ever face the reality of this, her deeply infatuated mind only saw him resisting her charms to save his reputation as the big bad Lord of the Dead. He would succumb to her affections eventually... with a little_ persuasion_ from Hecate, naturally.

"I see.." The masked hero said before bowing low and grinning, "Fear not, sweet smelling naiad, for I, the Grim Avenger will see Persephone resorted to the upper realms." Theseus proclaimed boldly with one hand pointing straight up to enthusiastically exaggerate his point.

"Well, in that case you better stick to the path, don't wander off the beaten track and incur the hound's wrath.. When you reach the point where three roads meet, go left passed the Pool of Memory to the Falls of Lethe, in the grove you'll find the goddess you seek." Minthe spoke clearly, reciting this line as if it had been memorised from a script.

"How do you know where she—?"

"_They_ told me.." The small dryad replied poignantly with a mysterious smile.

"Ah, the Fates.." Theseus grinned. "Tis good fortune, if they are smiling upon me.. Thank you, for your assistance. I should be off.." He grabbed his cape and headed off with a flourish, his voice continued to self commentate his every move. "And so, with new information the Grim Avenger continues on his quest with vigour and stealth.."

Minthe's smile vanished into a deadpan look as she frowned somewhat in disbelief.

"You think he's aware he does that?" She asked at seemingly nothing before two winged wolves slinked out from hiding in a nearby bush.

"Who knows, it's a full moon up there. It always brings out the crazies.." Canis grinned as he sat down on one side of the nymph.

"Too true. And what is with the way he talks. Who wrote his material?" Lupus added with a disapproving snort.

"I'm guessing he's not Hercules then." Minthe exhaled, it wasn't a question, she just wanted to confirm her suspicions.

"Pfft, Nah.. This is some other chump." Canis snickered in some amusement.

"Yeh, but he'll do. Hercules woulda been better but the plan was just to stir up some trouble between the gods and this could still work." Lupus added before tapping his brother on the shoulder. "We better report this to Hecate anyway, she'll want to know about this new development."

"Think you can watch him for us until then?" Canis asked Minthe curiously.

"Sure, why not? Hades is nowhere to be see and I got nothing better to do." The green-haired nymph added casually with a shrug watching as the Wolf brothers vanished back into the thicket before disappearing in a teal swirl of green mist.

* * *

"Hades.. D-do you have a soft spot for Persephone?" The slightly warm smile with an amused twinkle in those deep sky blues eyes made the Lord of the Dead recoil in horror. Choking on his response as he leaned further away from his biological brother in his cloudy seat. He had only just come to terms with his infatuation for her and there was no way in Tartarus he was going to discuss it with anyone, let alone Zeus..

"What?! No! Chaos, no! Whatta ya, mashuga?" The fiery god threw him a disgusted look, successfully burying the warmth inside him that threatened to make his flames flare white and give the truth away.

"Come now Hades, I saw that new law you had Hermes sneak into the Hall of Records. He-he.. I did the same thing for Hera when we were dating.." Zeus' thick white eyebrows suggestively. Somehow it was like the towering golden god could see through his cover with the look he was giving him now. Curse this guy for actually being perceptive for once!

"Fascinating." The blue flames god exhaled giving in to the conversation a little but determined that it wouldn't work between them. "But you are _waaay_ off. She is too young for me—"

"_Nonesense! _Persephone was the first born after the Titan War. How do you think she got the surname Protogenous." Zeus exclaimed eyeing his brother in some disbelief, did he really have no idea how old Persephone was? Was he that out of touch with the rest of them?

Seriously?" Hades blinked in shock, stunned by this information also wondering just how off base he was. Although when you were stuck in a realm that never changed the millenniums were bound to slip by unnoticed. Still, that meant that he and Persephone were much closer in age than appearances gave away. This was an interesting development.

"And she still hasn't got a job?" Hades added now looking at the Lord of Olympus with a smirk. "Zeusy, you been slacking bro."

"Hmh. I've been busy! Besides, I figured she would come to me when she found a niche.. The Fates know she's done enough interns by now to figure one out.." The glowing golden tanned god facepalmed, knowing this was getting ridiculous as she must have interned in every realm by now. "Demeter wants her trained to be Goddess of Spring but I won't have it, that's not a _real_ job. She has the nymphs to help with the seasons. I was hoping Persephone would find something away from her mother. The poor girl has been under her thumb long enough.."

"Uh-huh.. And what does your sister-in-law think'a that?" Hades drawled making himself comfortable once more and slouching deep into the cloud recliner.

"I, uh, haven't told her yet.." The guilty look that seeped across that wide grin and the way Zeus sunk down in his seat was enough to prove this was the truth.

"Of course not.." Hades muttered rolling his eyes with a deadpan glance to the reader.

"You remember how overbearing Demeter can be about her children, look at the trouble we've had with Bacchus after he got his purpose." Zeus responded with a warning look and Hades nodded vaguely remembering the objections she had at the time and shivered somewhat. _Yikes_, what kind of issues would she bring up with Persephone? As if on cue the golden god continued, answering the question. "It could be worse with Persephone, your not the first god to show interest in her daughter, y'know.."

"Excuse me, I do not—" Hades was about to object before he was suddenly hit with the desire to know more about Persephone's past suitors. "Wait, who was interested?"

"Hmm, Ares had to rescue her from Apollo's aggressive pursuit of her over the last few years. Hephaestus had a thing for her back in the day, of course that was before his interest was taken by Aphrodite. And I hear Hermes was the first to have a boy crush on her back in their school days but he's since grown out of that.. Demeter is hoping her daughter will follow in Hestia's footsteps and join her Vestial Virgin programme but I told her she cannot force Persephone to join, it must be her own choice. I know for a fact that her daughter has been fighting her on this point and wanted to help her out, least I could do for her while she is trapped at home." He sighed deeply drumming his hands on the arm of his throne thoughtfully.

"You could grant her access to the Elysian Fields if you want to help her now.." Hades responded with a careless shrug.

"She doesn't need that, if she can access it she's free to roam. I can't even remember the last time I was in there anyway." Zeus said off-handedly, waving his hand casually still trying to think of a way to get Persephone out of the stifling grip of Demeter. His eyes roamed his little brother, who he also needed kept in line as he couldn't allow him to plot another scheme like with the Titan's ever again, the council would certainly unseat him if his brother tried that again. Then it hit him and he grinned in a manner that Hades didn't like. "_Hah! _I got it.. You can marry her.."

"Wait—What? _Whoa_.. Where is _this_ coming from.." Hades threw his brother a suspicious look, this conversation had gone from I to XI in a matter of seconds.

"You need someone to keep you in line and she needs someone to keep her mother at bay! She's already in your realm and you've told me she seems to like it down there.. It's perfect! Get hitched, you have my blessing." Zeus declared and Hades grinned awkwardly, trying to hide the sudden terror at this new situation. He was a traditionalist, it was true but he also believed in dating a dame before marrying one, not to mention he liked to be wooed as much as he liked wooing. He wasn't going to marry a goddess, especially one that didn't love him in return.

"Ok.. I can see you've had your head in the clouds too long, it's cutting off the air to your brain. We'll talk again when inchor returns to your faculties. I gotta go, I gotta.. shampoo my hair." He vanished out in a tower of flames but his disembodied voice continued, "_Hah!_ Not likely, ciao.."

Zeus let out an elongated breath, shaking his head.. That hadn't gone particularly well.. He knew Hades would be resistant to the idea of marriage but this was a solid idea. Marriage had tamed both him and Poseidon and perhaps company was really all his gloom from the tomb brother needed. What he needed was Hades to be more open to the idea and admit to himself that he liked the girl. It was obvious to Zeus that he liked her, he could tell simply by the way Hades' pupils dilated at the mention of his infatuation, he'd always had expressive eyes. But how to get him to come around..

It took a moment but the answer hit him like lightning and he craned his head towards cloud thirty-two where the Monthly Mixer was being held.

"HERMES!" Within seconds of his call a streak of neon shot in his direction and the tiny god appeared in a flutter of small feathery wings.

"You bellowed your high and mightiest.." The Messenger God grinned then added casually, "You are missing one swinging shindig my main god. Hestia has out done herself but can we make this fast? Bacchus has an errand for me, gotta deliver his birthday present to his sister downstairs. Heh, the cat is too much, sends a gift six weeks late to her every year. Can you believe it?"

"Yes, yes.. This one you can do while your delivering it. I want you to go to Nyx and arrange a meeting at twilight. Heh, I know she's a nocturnal goddess and you can blame me if you wake her from her slumber. Just tell her it's urgent, I need her advice with something important." Zeus added, he was not going to tell the pint-sized god any more than he needed to know. He was too close to Persephone to know the truth of his intentions.

"Hmm, you haven't asked me to summon The Lady of the Night to you in some time, must be important stuff.." Hermes added suspiciously, clearly fishing for more details.

"That's all you need to know. Now go." Zeus stated and the note of stern finality in his voice was all the tiny god needed as he saluted then flashed a cheeky grin.

"Gone babe." Hermes vanished off in a blur of blue to collect the parcel that the God of Parties had summoned him for before the Monthly Mixer, telling him it wasn't urgent and to enjoy the festivities first. Since Zeus' was an urgent envoy he could kill two birds with one stone, like his boss suggested. He had met with everyone at the mixer anyway.

* * *

"Special delivery for Persephone Protogenous.." The sound of her best friend's voice made the thick blonde mane of Persephone's head turn away from Cerberus, who she had been fussing in the Grove of Lethe. Her smile widened at the sight of her best friend with a wrapped parcel that was taller than him. The enormous hound that had been slumped down with his grey furred belly exposed for rubs had rolled over and was sitting watching the small god over Persephone's shoulder.

"Hmh, knew that you'd be down here with something soon.." The petite goddess moved towards Hermes with a bright smile inspecting the brown wrapped parcel. "I can't think what it is, was it heavy to bring over from wherever he is?"

"He's in a place called India babe.. Nutty by all accounts, they wear something called 'pants', heh, never catch on." The small blue god chuckled then nudged her playfully. "Go ahead, open it. It wasn't heavy although Baccs thinks you're nuts for comin' down here. He thought you could use this while your here.. That's why he picked it."

"Ooh! Sounds exciting.." Persephone trilled gleefully, ripping at the brown wrap, tearing it off to reveal her present then looking confused. "_Urh_.. He sent me a throne?" One neat pale brown eyebrow raised as the youthful looking goddess threw her best friend a quizzical look. Sure, the chair was beautiful with its exquisitely carved patterns in the deep rosewood seat and it was upholstered in a blood red material that she couldn't quite recognise but looked invitingly plush.

"_Whoa!_ Hands off the material babe." Hermes suddenly panicked as she had moved her dainty white skinned hand to touch the seat only to find it swooped up, returning her stunned green eyes to him. "If you touch the chair it will make you forget everything you know. Bacchus didn't intend for you to sit in it, rather than use it to protect yourself. He wants you to stay on guard and stay safe."

"It makes you forget? How?" Persephone asked curiously as the blue god released her hand and she used those fingers to curl her unruly hair behind her pixie-like ear.

"I dunno. He never said, just wanted me to make sure that it wasn't you that sat in it.." The Messenger God responded gathering up the brown papyrus wrapping then making it vanish in a blue glow into nothing. "So, you want me to put it somewhere for now?"

"No, no.. It's fine. I can always move it later myself." Persephone waved it off then perched down on a nearby bench patting the space beside her. "You time for nectar and a catch up? It's probably the only thing about the Monthly Mixer I miss." A small sigh escaped her lips. As boring as Olympus was it was always good to spend an afternoon gossiping with her best friend.

"Love to babe but I gottan envoy for Zeus to run so have to be another time." Hermes said looking genuinely apologetic.

"Oh. Alright then.." She looked slightly disappointed but would never hold him from doing his duty. "See ya.."

"Later Seph." The small god then vanished into the darkness leaving the young goddess to gaze forlornly over at her new 'throne' wondering just where she could put this odd looking piece of furniture. It didn't really suit the backdrop of either her temporary bedroom or the grove.. It was at this point that the hulking great mutt that was Cerberus moved over to her and lowered two of it's heads to nuzzle her as the third remained upright. It's ears twitching as it stood as sentry. Persephone smiled at the affection given by the huge beast who's was a gentle soul underneath his imposing exterior.

"Your a good boy.. Yes you are.." She cooed gently, scratching the ears on both heads as the third continued to scan the dark surroundings. It then dipped as the right head lifted to take a shift and allow the other some fuss..

* * *

As Hades arrived back onto the main docks of the Styx below the towering stone skull-shaped fortress that was his home and base of operations, his yellow eyes swivelled left then right. Scanning the area for any sign of that green sprig of hair in a ponytail. He couldn't smell the sickly sweet scent that always hung around her and made him want to gag. He knew she was lurking around here somewhere, she was always somewhere close by. Watching him, making his skin crawl.. He didn't even know her name, nor did he want to! When he had found out Persephone was inside his realm, helping him get his numbers back on track and she wanted to stay he had been happy. Perhaps she would scare off his unwanted nymph stalker. To his delight, this worked. For a spell at least while he was getting her up to speed with the day to day running of his realm. Once they separated however the irritating naiad popped up like the bad smell she was.

So here he was once more. Ducking his obligations and putting more unnecessary work on the shoulders of his underlings just to avoid the amorous advances of some _stupid_ nymph. It was ridiculous, he was a god, a powerful one at that but he couldn't bring himself to smite a lousy stinkin' nymph. He gave a low exhale hoping that the coast was clear but as he stepped out into the open he was greeted by that high-pitched annoyingly breathy voice.

"Heya honey-flames, where have you been hiding?"

"_Argh!_" He yelled out in shock when he found the small naiad with bright leaf-green hair tied up in a high pony tail, dressed in a modest white dress with matching flowers in her hair. Her hazel eyes gazing at him in an adoring fashion. His surprised expression narrowed into a deadpan look.

"Oh. It's _you_." His voice was dripping with disdain as a snarl curled his lip. He was hardly delighted to see her. "Don't you sleep like a regular nymph?"

"Of course not silly. Then I wouldn't be here to spend time with you." Minthe trilled happy to be having a conversation with him.p, even if he was unnecessarily grumpy with her. She just figured he had had a long day,

"Uh. Yeh.. That's the point.." Hades drawled thinking that she was dense for not getting this. Why did he attract the crazies? He just wanted someone sane, who understood him and he could have a meaningful conversation without them back-stabbing him later. The nymph only giggled dumbly in response before following his quick steps around the docks. He was heading towards the Grove of Lethe to get away from her and hopefully run into Persephone in the process. Unfortunately she was following.

"Hey, how about we go for a picnic together? Just you and me.. Be romantic." The green haired nymph trilled and his yellow eyes widened in shock. Oh no, he did not want to be alone with her _anywhere_. Period.

"Alright. _That's it!_ I can't take this anymore.." Hades growled in annoyance, he was not in the mood right now. "I have tried to be nice about this but that's it Mr Nice-Guy is gone!" He snarled whipping around with orange flames of badly repressed fury. He then spoke slowly and firmly so that she wouldn't miss anything this time. "There is no we! I don't like you, in fact, I've never liked you! Now get out of my sight before I set my underlings on you. _Comprende vous?_"

For a long moment the tiny maid stood there in shock at his words, merely staring watery eyed at his angry glare.

"But—" She started before another voice just ahead sounded along with the sound of the deep booming barking of Cerberus.

"Hades?" Persephone's voice was drowned out slightly by the barking of Cerberus who now bounced out of the Grove of Lethe and charged snarling at the nymph who squealed in shock and vanished into a green mist before the huge hound could get to her. The huge three-headed dog skidded to a stop, all the huge noses when down and began sniffing as if trying to track where the sprite that had been annoying his master went. He lifted his heads and gave a confused whine, not understanding why he couldn't track the offender.

"Is everything ok out here?" Persephone's blonde head poked out from the cypress trees that were growing either side of her garden grove around the Pool of Lethe. Her green eyes looked curiously to the Lord of the Dead with an inflection of concern. Hades smiled wearily at her, his eyes only glanced back at Cerberus who had started growling at the sound of something moving in the dull blue grass on the opposite bank of the Styx.

"Eh, it's nothin' my sweet. Just been a long day, that's all." The Lord of the Dead responded as a loud splash indicated that Cerberus had dived into the Styx and was dog paddling across to investigate the rustling.

"You want me to pour you a spiced nectar and we can talk about it?" The white skinned goddess offered kindly with a sweet girly smile that immediately calmed his orange flames to blue. She was still leaning on the tree trunk smiling sweetly at him, looking every bit the macabre beauty she had always been in the dim phosphorus Underworld light.

"Sounds great babe.. You will not believe the day I have had." Hades responded in a tired voice, inwardly glad that Persephone was nowhere near is irritating as his nuisance stalker, not that he wanted to think about her.

"Well, mine's been pretty eventful too. Wait 'til you see what my brother just sent me. I think your gonna love it." The youthful looking goddess replied giddily, beckoning him to follow her and he did so, gladly..

**Little Notes:**

**Hey guys, I know things are a little crazy right now with the pandemic and I just want to reassure you my heading note in the last chapter was in no way fishing for reviews, in fact I'm happy to just have one. Any feedback I get is greatly appreciated but not necessary. I'm also grateful for those of you that follow and alert my story. As long as you follow I will continue to write, reviews are just a bonus. I just love hearing what you think and do take your criticism on board.. I care about my followers and I just hope you are all safe in these uncertain times..**

**Anyway, back to the story. Again, we have more shaping and myth buffs will be rejoicing because there are lots of little nods to myths in this chapters. This is chapter that is morse so setting up the scene for the next chapter which will see Theseus attempting to 'rescue' Persephone..**

**Stay tuned for more very soon..**

**A~Teal**


	17. The Grim Avenger In Femme Flora Fatale

** Plight of Persephone**

_Ok people, you know the score, I do not own Hercules, Disney does and even though they have not issued plans for a live action redo, give it time. Everything else seems to be getting the treatment so I wouldn't be shocked if it happened. And since Disney aren't entertaining the idea of a remake, I decided I would. Don't worry, you do not need to have read any of my other stories to read this one and the original is NOT going anywhere, it stays here where it belongs.. I do own this version of Persephone and all other original characters and places that come up, permission and advice is always given to those who want to use them but do tell me if you use my characters so I may view and comment on your work.. Just like the original I will be basing this story around Greek myths and twisting them around just like Disney did, I will also be reworking some of_ _the original plot lines.. Please review and let me know your thoughts.. Thank you for your time. Enjoy! _

* * *

**Reviews:**

**Sharkeygirl: Yeh, Hades might be a bad guy but he has always had a flames off policy when it comes to females. It's not specifically stated but I have noticed that he treats female underlings somewhat differently to male ones, using manipulation and menacing threats rather than out and out violence which he saves for male ones. Minthe has been bothering him for years and for whatever reason hadn't been taking the many hints that he laid down. Unfortunately this wasn't the first time he's been blunt with her but it is the first time he has threatened her with underlings and when Cerberus has found her harassing his master. X**

**Azhi D: I'm glad your enjoying it and in these uncertain times happiness is what we need most.. x**

**An Unhobbity Hobbit: An OG? Wow, I wasn't sure there was many of them still reading. I expected most to be settled with families by now. Welcome back, the rewrite happened purely because of all the Disney reboots and I chose to do this since my old story follows the same 'dated' formula. Although, I won't be pushing cultural pandering and alphabet leanings. I don't need to do the latter right enough as this is set in Ancient Greece and they are pretty open about any kind of relationship.. I'm also happy I started the rewrite as it's given me something to focus on in these traumatic times.. Happy reading.. x**

* * *

A~N: Ok guys, while I'm housebound I am going to try hard to return to my Tuesday update. I want to try and reform a regular post day and try to claw back some reader confidence. I know my posting has been sketchy lately and I really want to fix that.. X

* * *

**_Chapter Seventeen: The Grim Avenger in Femme Floral Fatale_**

"Aww..c'mon cutie! Have'a heart! Lemme try it on the imps. _Pleeeeease._." Hades pleaded, actually on his knees in the middle of the Grove of Lethe with his hands clasped together imploring a petite goddess. If any of his underlings saw this he would flame them into next week as his reputation as a cruel dictator would shot. But he didn't understand why the blonde goddess would dangle a Chair of Forgetfulness in front of his face and _not_ let him test it out. He had always wanted one of those but the import taxes were almost as expensive as the chair itself and so not worth the costs. What was the point in her owning the coolest torture device ever conceived if he couldn't test it out on the imps first?

"_Nohh_! They haven't done anything to deserve such torture... _yet_." Persephone uttered the last word under her breath with a half eye roll as she folded her arms keeping her light scowl. It was true, she had barely seen the imps today as they had been covering the Soul Booth while Hades had been topside in his meeting with Zeus but it was only a matter of time before he found something to get irate with them over. Still, she wasn't a fan of punishment without rhyme or reason, it seemed to go against the whole 'Fairness in Tartarus' system he had been teaching her down here.

"They exist." Hades suggested flashing her a pleading grin, hoping that was enough.

"Maybe so but you have their parents to blame for that.." Persephone smirked kinking a brow, her expression twisting into a playful smirk.

"Yeh but I ain't torturin' Oyzis and Lamia for that, they're friends of my parents and trust me, you do not wanna upset those two, believe me." The blue flamed god replied grimly knowing fine well how both Nyx and Erebus looked in fury. He had experienced that often, in fact, he had purposely been avoiding his shady father since coming out of the Pool of Lethe dreading how the God is Shadows was going to react about him releasing the Titans, never mind chaining up his fellow gods and throwing a mountain on Zeus! He would never hear the end of this..

"I wouldn't mind meeting them sometime. Mom always speaks so highly of Lady Nyx.." Persephone replied sweetly, no longer looking annoyed as it seemed that the Lord of the Dead was suitably distracted from the Chair of Forgetfulness.

"Eh, I dunno.. I've never taken a girl home to Ma before, heh. She might get the wrong idea about us. You've no idea how long she's been nagging me to find a deity with the same 'aura as mine and bring the Underworld to a place of cosmic unity.'. Heh, she's very into astronomy. She claims that everyone's future's are mapped out in her stars, they just have to know where to look for the answers.."

"Wow.. Really?" The blonde goddess looked impressed but Hades snorted in response.

"_Pfft..._ Don't buy into it Seph.. She may be the Mother of the Fates but she's not as accurate as them." The blue flamed god got to his feet hardly looking as awed with the idea as the more naive goddess.

"Your just saying that because she's your mother.." Persephone replied softly, knowing that she too had downsized her mother's achievements just to avoid talking about her anymore too. "But I won't push you on the subject, that sound fair."

"Ok, great.. So sure you don't want me to test run this baby out for ya?" Hades flashed her a narrow-eyed leer with a wolfish sharp-toothed grin leaning down to be face-to-face with the youthful looking goddess. They were back onto the Chair of Forgetfulness again. He held out his large hand offering her the half drunk pink Pomtini in a martini glass, still with a cherry on a toothpick. The blonde goddess with white skin giggled girlishly accepting the drink.

"No! It's my birthday present, I should get to use it first." Persephone replied sipping her drink once more as Hades finished off his spiced nectar on the rocks.

"Fine! Then you can throw the imps on it.." He exhaled after downing the drink and making the empty glass vanish in a puff off smoke. Most likely sending it to the kitchen to be washed by one of them later.

"Hades, _no_ _imps! _I will use it when I'm good and ready to and I promise you, whoever goes in it will deserve to be there." The youthful goddess responded sternly through it was ruined by the slight smile of amusement still ghosting her face.

"Alright, alright.. Geez, take it easy. A god can look out for his best girl, can't he?" Hades had been smirking as he said this but the moment they were out his brain seemed to kick in with a mental CLXX on this. Wow_! Back up. Did I just refer to her as 'my girl'.. But, she's not looking repulsed.. _His recently resurrected heart was pounding like Hephaestus during a back order for Zeus. He knew he had it bad and he could hear his biological brother's earlier proposal still burning away in his ears but there was no way he could push her into that. Even if, by some miracle, she was down he wasn't even sure he was ready.

"I guess.." Persephone replied in an almost breathless tone, an almost disbelieving yet nervous edge touched her expression. A soft peachy blush lightly flushed her cheeks while there was a hopeful glimmer in those brilliant olive green eyes. There was a moment of silence that hung awkwardly between them once more and the youthful goddess took an unnecessarily large swig of her Pomtini, swallowing thickly and ignoring the dregs and cherry on a stick left inside the glass.

"Y'know, I should probably go and relieve the boys from the Soul Booth, they're way overdue a break and I don't need them getting uppity about it." The fiery pale-blue grey skinned god exhaled looking a little reluctant about leaving but knowing that he couldn't play hooky all afternoon as he was moving into the busy season. "I know today's your day off an' all but once I catch up on the paperwork you wanna hook up for dinner? My treat, whadda ya say?"

"Sure, sounds good. Just come get me when your ready to go." The blonde-haired goddess replied airily, happy to have any excuse to spend time with him since his time was limited as it was and she wouldn't need any time to ready herself for this, it wasn't as if this was a date so it wasn't a big deal what she looked like.

"_Great_.." His own voice came out in an elongated breath that he hadn't been aware he was even holding. His heart seemed to flutter faster at her response and a strange new feeling of tentative hope appeared. Maybe she wasn't so disgusted by him like the other goddesses were. "Here, lemmie get that for ya, my sweet.." He added flashing her a smarmy leer taking her glass from her. He was pushing his gentlemanly manners to lengths only usually used when he was wheedling a shady deal. This time it wasn't for business and while it was odd it felt strangely right when directed to her, she soothed his savage nature by merely being in his presence. He picked up the uneaten soaked cherry on a toothpick and offered it to her. Persephone took it from him with a small smile and a murmur of thanks then opened her mouth a little and took the cherry between her teeth.

"Until tonight.." Hades added with a playful wink then vanished out in a curl of smoke with the glass in tow. The blonde goddess only hummed in some mirth while she chewed the alcohol-soaked cherry then turned her green eyes thoughtfully towards the Chair of Forgetfulness. She was back on what to do with it..

At the quiet spot near the Falls of Lethe was the little green plant with small white flowers, trembling in rage and jealousy at what it had just witnessed between the two immortals at the bottom of the grove.

* * *

Things were getting weirder and weirder the deeper Theseus went into the Underworld. This place was not anything like the young mortal king expected. Darkness, despair and a bottomless pit of suffering but not plants, trees and a sweet smelling nymph to boot. Sure, the flowers were down and gloomy looking and probably poisonous, if the nymph what's-her-face was anything to go by, the trees were crooked and creepy looking and their raised roots were a tripping hazard so he had to watch his step. But how were they growing? Surely Hades hadn't allowed them to grow unless his personality had flipped upside down completely.. It was a well known fact to both gods and mortals that the Lord of the Dead hated Spring and despised flowers, so what was going on? Surely Persephone hadn't grown this. She was just a flower maiden from what Theseus knew of Demeter and her daughter, her job was to grow flowers in spring and tend to them through the summer until they shrivel up in autumn. There was no way the sweet damsel of Demeter could grow anything this sinister, especially in a realm she didn't belong in..

Heeding the nymph's advice the masked hero didn't smell anything, in fact he breathed through his mouth in slow deliberate breaths and he moved swiftly towards a T-junction where he could see the dark waters of an unknown river. Not wanting to know if there were any souls in it he turned away looking for a sign that might indicate where he was. Unfortunately the only one in the area was decrepit and scratched out, most likely by his minions on Hades' orders. He wasn't known for making things easy but fortunately the nymph had already told him which way to go so he turned left, heading towards the Pool of Lethe, completely unaware he was actually on the banks of the Acheron and closer to his prize than he thought..

"The Underworld was far warmer than he thought it would be, he had always imagined it would be bone-chillingly cold down here but it was like summer, in fact, the Grim Avenger was beginning to sweat in his chiton.." The masked hero was uttering to himself as he approached some creepy, leathery green leaved Cypress trees that were standing sentry around the edge of what could only be described as a warm, unearthly and eerie jungle of thorny bushes and gloomy flora.

"Who's there?" A female voice called out, sounding more curious than frightened. His eyes found a figure rise up from where they were bent, a thick mane of blonde hair swished as their head turned revealing soft pearly white skin, brilliant olive green eyes that scanned the area and luscious full cherry lips forming a neat, quizzical pout. Her soft golden-brown brows knitted together as her eyes peered around the thick leathery foliage of the subterranean garden. Theseus' face twisted in disgust at her tight black dress that showed off more of her figure than should be on show for a virginal damsel.

"Dear gods, she has become his plaything." He uttered scowling deeply then straightened adding, "Not for long." Her green eyes met his with a narrow-eyed look, her arms went to her hips. One jutted out as she gave him a disapproving gaze.

"You do know it's considered an affront to goddesses to invade their privacy without an invitation." The white-skinned goddess said in an unexpectedly stern tone as she watched this masked mortal pull himself out of her plants, thinking he was lucky he had picked a spot to come in where the foliage was benign.

"Ah, yes. I apologise flawless Persephone for the intrusion but we must go—" Theseus began moving swiftly towards her, offering a hand to hers.

"Go?" Persephone looked confused, pulling herself out of reach.

"Yes, now we must make haste before the Lord of the Dead comes back. The Grim Avenger is here to rescue you from him and return you to your mother.." Her reaction was not what he expected, rather than look thrilled she looked offended by his words.

"_Rescue me!_" Her voice screeched out loudly before she eyed him like some low-life bug that was ruining her hard work by chewing on some recently grown foliage. "And just _what _is it you _think_ that you are rescuing me from, _hero?_" The last word spat out of her mouth with such contempt that it threw Theseus completely and he rubbed his long chiselled chin as he pondered her reaction.

"The Grim Avenger was taken aback by her reaction, was it possible that the Lord of the Dead had manipulated her innocent mind—" His thoughtless outspoken self-narration was all that was needed to push Persephone over the edge causing her lovely mane of bright blonde hair to burst into a bonfire of flames that swept across her shoulders and fanned out like a dangerous flower.

"_I DON'T NEED HADES TO TELL ME HOW TO THINK!_"

* * *

"Huh?" The blue flamed head of said Lord of the Underworld craned around from the line of newly arriving souls off the black gondola, his gaze now resting on the distant point where he knew the Fall of Lethe was hidden behind his skull-shaped home.

"That didn't sound good.." Charon's voice came from his standing position at the stern of his long black boat with grotesque carving of the head of a serpent. The second the last souls left his boat he dipped his elongated oar and began quickly rowing back upstream away from his boss, not wanting to be dragged into something that didn't concern him.

"_Pain!_" Hades snarled out and immediately the rose coloured imp with a flopping mop of magenta hair came out of a puff of shimmering pink, grinning widely with a rolled up scroll in both his hands and looking anxious.

"_Panic!_" The fury god added in an equally intimidating tone and the light teal imp with long pointed horn-like ears appeared holding a half-eaten pastry looking terrified.

"Breaks over boys, I gotta go check on Seph, somethin' is goin' down round back.." The distant sound of her irate voice drifted back.

"Wow, she sounds pissed.." Panic exclaimed before chuckling lightly. "Glad I'm not on the receiving end of that.."

"I might know why she's pissed.." Pain stated and this made Hades turn to him as the chubby imp unfurled the scroll revealling the headline: _**Hades Still Holds Spring Hostage, Is Greece Doomed To Eternal Winter?**_

"Gimmie that! What is this?" The blue flamed god had snatched the news scroll from Pain and ran his eyes over the story, "Bla-Bla-blabla... 'this reporter concludes that without Demeter's daughter the Goddess of Nature will be too distraught to bring in Spring, leading to an endless winter until her return, who will save her?' _Pfft! _Puh-lease... As if she needs saving, _c'mon! _Gimmie a break.. She can leave whenever she wants." He sighed heavily then turned his round golden eyes to his minions. "As usual boys, the media has put I and I together and come up with V.." He then stroked his chin thoughtfully, "Hmm, woulda been a great scheme, too bad I never thought of it back when I had Seph as a tot.."

"That's not the first headline like that either.." Pain added without giving the ramifications of this admission much thought. Panic on the other hand immediately started shushing him and trying to silence him by grabbing his mouth, only to be pushed back by his stronger but dimmer partner. "They've been running this story all week. Panic's worried some mortal hero might try and grab Persephone.."

"Wait, this story has been going _how_ long..._ AND NOBODY TOLD ME ABOUT IT!-!_" Hades snarled out turning a nasty shade of orange, the news scroll burning into ash in his hands as he simmered in fury on the spot.

"Ah, c'mon.. It's not such a big deal boss, who's gonna be dumb enough to try and take her." Pain added trying to sooth the raging bonfire that was his boss.

"Oh, I dunno.. Maybe _Hercules.._" Panic sounded in a tone that suggested this should've been obvious to a simpleton like him.

"Don't you think he woulda been here by now?" Pain retorted with an uppity inflection.

"Oh _yehhhh..._" Panic added rubbing his chin, thinking about it. "He's usually more prompt than this.." Hades who had been about to roast them, his fists to his elbows nothing but flames, suddenly froze looking worried by the prospect of some would-be hero coming down and attempting to kidnap Persephone. His arms snuffed out as he returned blue and growled in frustration at not being able to vent.

"_Argh..__. _Memo to me,_ memo to me!_ Carbonise you _after_ a check in with Seph.." He declared making both imps flinch in unison, remaining coiled until he moved away from them then flashing each other a nervous grin.

"So who do you think this bozo is hasslin' Persephone?" Pain asked picking up his clipboard from the spot they had left them in before going off for break. Panic picked his up after wiping his smooshed pastry off his leathery skinned hip, having crushed it in his fright over a threatened smiting.

"Who cares, he's doomed..." The teal imp snorted unconcerned, thinking that if Persephone hadn't dealt with the intruder Hades sure would the second he got there. Pain merely nodded as they both turned their attention to the grouping of souls waiting for them. "Welcome to the Underworld, now that you are dead you may feel confusion, nausea and or disillusionment, this is normal—"

"I wish he would hurry up and ask her out already.." Pain added at this point making Panic exhale and turn to him.

"What?" He flashed his twin brother a look of irritation, this was hardly the time for this discussion.

"The boss. Why doesn't he just ask out Persephone, I mean, it's obvious he's sweet on her, what's holdin' him back?" The rose pink imp frowned in confusion. "If anyone deserves some happiness it's him.."

"Maybe he doesn't think she likes him back.. You know how badly he takes rejection." Panic rolled his eyes about to turn back when Pain gripped him flashing a twisted grin.

"Hey, maybe we can give them a prod in that department.." The rose pink imp exclaimed looking sneaky.

"_Pfft.._ Yeh, right. To even stand a chance of doing that we would need to get a—" The slim teal imp suddenly broke off with a far away look on his face, his job now long forgotten as an idea came to him. "Maybe we can Pain, maybe we _can.._" Panic's eyes narrowed deviously, they were both on the same page now.. But they would have to wait until their next break to get what it was the teal imp wanted..

* * *

_...At the exact same moment.._

"You are _way_ off base if you think for just _one_ second that he has _any_ control over the _way I think._" Persephone's usually sweet voice was a high shrill screech, the ends of her hair still searing in golden flames and the Grove of Lethe feeling incredibly hot and sweaty, like someone had just cranked up the temperature dial from Mediterranean summer to sticky sultry tropical rainforest levels. The plants around them even seemed to quiver, flower heads folding up as if protecting themselves from wrath. Then sound of something moving in the undergrowth started and caused a snapping noise which momentarily took the attention of the mortal masked hero for a split moment before his eyes returned to her.

"Apologies.. The Grim Avenger didn't mean to offend. He simply wishes to see justice prevail.." The masked mortal threw her his best smouldering grin, most likely expecting her to swoon like multiple mortal teenage girls did when faced with his muscles. Unfortunately the blonde haired goddess didn't look too impressed by his handsome good looks.

"Uh-huh.. Justice for _what_, exactly?" Her green eyes narrowed in suspicion, confused by whatever warped reasoning he could have for breaking into Hades' realm and trying to spirit her away.

The Grim Avenger blinked in utter disbelief.

"Y-your sure you..." His usual voice tailed off at the scrutinising look the youthful beauty was giving him, her arms folded tightly across her ample bosom. The dark hooded hero then cleared his throat and readdressed her in the gravelly tone he usually used for his hero persona. "_Ahem.. _Excuse me. What I mean is that a delicate flower maiden such as yourself doesn't not belong in a harsh place like this.."

Persephone's jaw dropped in shock as her green eyes widened and she remained speechless for a brief moment before her brain kicked into gear once more, fury filling her inchor.

"DID YOU JUST IMPLY I'M A DAMSEL IN DISTRESS!" The white skinned goddess raised her voice once more making the masked hero wince, amazed that the Lord of the Dead hadn't shown up yet as she was loud enough for him to hear. The rustling in the thicket around them that had quelled for a moment started again, louder, getting closer and making him feel uneasy..

"Well, heh, aren't you?" The Grim Avenger looked completely bemused trying to shake off the feeling that something bad was going to happen.

"_Arh! _First you insult my _intelligence_ and now you think I'm some _snivelling waif that needs some big strong dolt to RESCUE HER FROM THE UNDERWORLD?_" The moment her voice raised something struck like snakes from the undergrowth making the worried masked hero turn his head from the furious goddess who had her fists balled at her sides as her chest heaved with her deep breaths. His deep blue eyes widened in horror as some thorny barbs shot out at him, wrapping themselves around him and dragged him across the ground. His yell of surprise and pain as the thorns scratched his skin, causing minor grazes to his tanned skin and a small drop of blood to pool in a couple of spots, stopping him from struggling so he didn't rip his skin open.

"I'm a goddess, _not_ a damsel in distress.." Persephone hissed flicking her wrist and the thorny barbs slammed Theseus into the ornate chair that had looked out of place in the thick foliage of the stiflingly hot grove. "And by the way.." Her voice was soft, returning to its sweet sultry tone with a new steely edge to it which hinted at her continued frustration with his vision of her. She sauntered lazily to where he was sat and leaned over, making sure his forearms were resting on the armrests then remained leaned in with a twisted smirk on her face that actually marred her innocent beauty making it look far more dangerous. When she spoke there was a chilling foreboding edge that sweet sultry voice. "I'm _not_ a prisoner, I can go home _anytime_ I want.."

* * *

"_Whoa-hoh!_ Persephone, babe.. I see the lessons have been paying off.." The sound of Hades' voice filled the Grove of Lethe before the nine foot blue flamed god appeared out a cloud of smoke behind Persephone making her jump back in surprise as he flashed her a grin. "Oh, now this place is stiflingly hot, kinda reminds me of Tartarus.." He added taking in the unearthly heat that surrounded him.

"_Uh_, yeh... S-sorry, heh, I raise climates when I'm upset it will go back to normal in a few days, I promise." The white-skinned goddess flashed him an imploringly wide green eyed look. She knew that the heatwaves of the surface world usually happened because someone, usually her mother, had been the cause of her upset. She brought a whole new meaning in needing to 'cool off'.

"Huh? Oh, it's fine.. I like it. And it explains why things have been unusually warm down here lately, usually it's cold, damp and _brrr.. _But you, my sweet, are a little sunspot, we should scmooze baby and talk long term." Hades pulled her in close and placed both hands on her shoulders flashing his most charming leer.

"Your not mad then?" Persephone asked looking surprised.

"Mad? I'm _never_ mad.. Well, not at you anyway. But in case you didn't notice, I can handle the heat.." He leaned his head down level with hers and gestured to his full head of blue flames. This made Persephone giggle lightly her sweet smile coming back.

In the seat between them the masked hero had found his mind clouding over. There was something odd about this chair, it was incredibly comfortable but something was wrong with his body. He wasn't even strapped down but he couldn't move, his limbs felt heavy and listless and despite his mind internally screaming for them to move they didn't. He felt like a head on a stick.

"What's happening to me.." He murmured in a soft voice, his tough Grim Avenger persona voice was gone as his eyes rolled laugidly in his skull, the numbing had travelled to his neck so he couldn't turn his neck. Sadly his struggling question was ignored as the two gods continued as if he hadn't even spoken.

"Whadda ya say we find out who this bozo really is? I know I'm dyin' t'know.." Hades smirked to the blonde goddess in some amusement before stretching out a muscled pale-blue arm and snatching off the head mask, revealling the sandy blonde haired King of Attica. "Whoa! Theseus? Really... Hm, was not expectin' that.." The fiery god looked surprised.

"You know this mortal.." Persephone narrowed her eyes up in disdain at the fiery god.

"_Nahh._. But met his dear ol' dad when he kicked the bucket a few years back and arrived here.. This kid was supposed to be the next big thing before Jerkules came along and stole his thunder, hah! At least he was until he returned victorious from Crete and a simple sail mistake caused king daddy to throw himself to his death. Imagine his _horror_ upon learnin' he'd topped himself for no reason.." He then straightened with morbid amusement studying the mask that Theseus had been wearing. "Is this the getup you were usin'? _Hmm,_ a bit more down and broody than your traditional hero but hey, maybe that was your problem, huh? Too much focus on the 'nhya, nhya-nhya' and not enough _action._."

"I don't understand, what makes you want to stay here.. with him?" Theseus could feel the words slurring, struggling to form as he fought the will to just succumb to the chair that was trying to suck him into a state of stupor where he would be completely aware of his surroundings but be unable to respond to them. Hades looked offended by this question and flared irritably about to retort when the youthful goddess placed a hand on his chest, her touch automatically making his flames reced and return blue. His yellow eyes rolling to her as she addressed the hero subdued by the chair he was sitting in, unaware that he was slowly fusing to the seat.

"You wouldn't understand, you just don't _see_ what I see." Her voice was soft and purposeful as her green eyes turned upwards to the blue fiery god. The harsh undertones gone, as her heart filled with with that warm fuzzy feeling that felt completely different from the swirling fury that rose like a vengeful phoenix and sent domain temperatures soaring. No, this was not something that was born of anger it felt strangely happy and peaceful..

"Seriously Seph, not even_ I _see wha—" Hades had chuckled lightly and only started to counter her words when he broke off shocked when she gripped the neck of his dark blue undershirt and pushed her lips to his. His first instinct was blind panic, he gripped her shoulders tightly intending to push her off him. She shouldn't be kissing him, she was only here temporarily, she would be gone in the Spring.. He couldn't get attached... even though her lips were soft to the touch, just like the asphodels in the Fields of Purgatory and just as befuddling, making his hooded eyes shut. His nostrils filled with the gentle fragrance of her dark flora and he could taste the sweet fruit she loved to cultivate and eat. Hades' inner turmoil slipped to the back burner of his mind as his flames flared a lusty white and billowed over his shoulders, his grip slackening as his full dark lips started to respond to her sweet, innocent little kiss..

Persephone's fingers were still bunched in the muted green and blue design around the neck hem, tensing and tightening when his large hands gripped her around the shoulders. She expected him to rip her off and push her away so she clung on, feeling if he rejected her advances she might die, if that was possible. This wasn't her first kiss, Hermes had stolen that centuries ago and just like the one she was offering Hades now it was sweet and innocent but it didn't feel like this. This stirred her insides in a way she had never felt before, it was indescribable but addictive too, she couldn't will herself to stop as she didn't want it to end. Her heart leapt to her throat when she felt his grip slacken and his lips suddenly moved against hers. He was responding! Persephone let out a small noise, yielding to him..

In that moment the kiss' innocence was tarnished, it became something more primal. One large hand skimmed around to to her lower back as the other tilted her chin, taking control of the kiss as his tongue probed. Hades was using it to strategically gain access her mouth as the hand by her face flicked the soft skin of her cheek. Predictably her sweet lips parted and allowed him access with a small moan. He was no stranger to seduction, he had had a few trysts. Mere one night stands just to sate his lust. It would quell for a few millennia then like a hungry beast it would return with a vengeance demanding tribute. The difference between those females and Persephone was that he had no feelings for them, they had just been used and discarded. Once he had satisfied his carnal desires he never called them back. He and Leuce had been lovers, friends with benefits. He loved her but he wasn't _in love_ with her, she understood the arrangement and he had entertained her repeatedly until her end when she burst into a swirl of fluffy seeds and travelled away in the winds, never to be seen again. Sometimes he missed her but more her company than anything else. He had tried to replace her but unfortunately for him neither the witch or his little stalker had understood that he didn't want anything long term, nor did he want to share his Underworld...

...until now.

_Whoa! No! Where did that come from?_ Hades' eyes opened in shock and however reluctantly he wanted to he pulled her sweet lips away from his and stepped back from her. Her eyes peeled open in confusion and she looked up at him and he could see it, what Hermes had been saying. She did like him too. He could feel his heartbeat quicken and hear Zeus' proposal of marriage... Then the warmth in his chest turned to icy fear.. He wasn't ready for this, he couldn't condemn her to a life down here. He wouldn't—

"Did I do something wrong?" Her voice broke through his mental torture like a bucket of water extinguishing his fire. His large golden yellow eyes blinked a few times before he spoke.

"No. No, I just have to get back. Heh, got deadlines, targets to meet and I can't take my eyes off Team Useless too long. Don't want them slackin'.. _again_." Hades replied running his finger through his flames as they flared briefly as he straightened with a firm expression and a slight curl of his fists.

"Are we still on for dinner?" Persephone followed up, still looking unsure as if able to perceive that there was some subtle change in the dynamic of them. He certainly wasn't looking as comfortable as he should look after instigating such an intensely passionate turn to her innocent kiss.

"Yeh, of course. A god of my word babe. I will come getcha once I have thumbed through the paperwork." He responded easily, flashing her a wide grin and she looked a little suspicious making him inwardly question if she could see he needed some space from her to mull over what had just happened between them. Fortunately she smiled in the next moment and he was sure he had gotten away with his awkward social blunder.

"Ok then." Persephone smiled brightly, satisfied before adding sweetly, "Do you think you could do one little thing for me before you go?" Her eyes narrowed hopefully as she raised her dainty hand with two fingers barely touching.

"Name it, my _sweet_." He crooned softly, narrowing his eyes in a smouldering manner. He wasn't above a little harmless flirting, especially since he knew for sure she had a sweet spot for him.. He did like to tease. Predictably, her cheeks flushed a soft peach at his words and she ran her fingers through her messy blonde mane of hair looking suddenly coy.

"Do you think you could get rid of him?" She gestured to the young King of Attica slumped motionless in the Chair of Forgetfulness behind them. He may have been unresponsive but he had had a front row seat to their show..

"Consider it done." Hades replied with a nasty edge to his smile, snapping his fingers and both the thief and the ornate dark wooded chair vanished in a curl of dark smoke..

**_Little Notes:_**

**_Hey guys, thank you so much for the 51 faves and 65 alerts. That's quite a jump and while I attribute a lot of that to being stuck indoors under lockdown I'm happy that you've chosen this story to read and follow. In response I have put up a brand new poll that is taking requests for what story you would like me to write to mark 100 reviews. And you can vote twice, I made sure.. It will stay up until I am only a few reviews away from the target as I want to be ready to post as soon as I hit the goal. _**

**_A little bit more of Hades' backstory here, particularly regarding his opinions on women, yes, I know a little self-serving but are we really surprised? I hope it explains his reluctance to fully embrace his attraction to Persephone a bit better and also why Hecate is so hell bent on trying to take the Underworld away from him. This is kind of a key point and will be resurfacing again in the next chapter.._**

**_I've also tweaked Persephone's abilities a little in this story. Her hair turns to flames when she's mad but it's more of an illusion than actual fire_****_ like Hades' flames. She creates heat when angry which affects the climate in the domain she is in so temperatures rise and fall with her moods. Of course, there will be consequences if she isn't around which will been seen later. I like this idea of global warming being caused whenever Hades and Persephone fall into a blazing row.._**

**_Apologise for the lack of Hecate, Hermes and others who were all missing in this chapter. I promise that they will be back in the next one. And yes, Nyx and Erebus too will be making appearances soon as well, we all love some of that sweet Hades torture.. A _****_little heads up, Persephone may have a bit of a song going on _****_too, nothing drastic, don't worry. _****_So I will hopefully see you next Tuesday with a brand new update!_**

**_Until then, stay tuned.._**

**_A~Teal_**


	18. How Did It End Up Like This?

** Plight of Persephone**

_Ok people, you know the score, I do not own Hercules, Disney does and even though they have not issued plans for a live action redo, give it time. Everything else seems to be getting the treatment so I wouldn't be shocked if it happened. And since Disney aren't entertaining the idea of a remake, I decided I would. Don't worry, you do not need to have read any of my other stories to read this one and the original is NOT going anywhere, it stays here where it belongs.. I do own this version of Persephone and all other original characters and places that come up, permission and advice is always given to those who want to use them but do tell me if you use my characters so I may view and comment on your work.. Just like the original I will be basing this story around Greek myths and twisting them around just like Disney did, I will also be reworking some of_ _the original plot lines.. Please review and let me know your thoughts.. Thank you for your time. Enjoy! _

* * *

**Reviews:**

**Sharkeygirl: Haha, yeh.. Hades has never had a real relationship before he's just been interested in his own gratification, that's why it's so difficult for him to get close to Persephone. He's never let anyone get close to him.. X**

**Angel of Hunky-Doryness: How far they get us really up to Hades. He's the one with the intimacy issues but we can all still root for him. X**

* * *

_**Chapter Eighteen: How Did It End Up Like This?**_

"Then... Then... They were KISSING!" Hecate's home grotto was filled with the angry whining from Minthe who was huffing and puffing, waving her fists and stamping her foot like a small child throwing a volcanic sized temper tantrum. "She's such a a liar! She told me she was just an intern! _Grrrr.._ Why is nobody trying to stop her.. He's supposed to be _miiine!_" Suddenly she stopped moving, huge tears coming to her eyes and she trembled like her heart had been shattered into a million pieces and stomped on by Persephone herself.

"_Urh! _Why do you_ care!_" Hecate drawled rubbing her temples with the slim almost white violety skinned fingers of one small hand. This blubbering naiad was giving her a migraine, all this fuss just for some inside scoop on Persephone was so not worth this. Why had she bothered to entertain this nymph?

"Because, the night we had was so perfect, so magical... I felt things I never thought I could feel before." Minthe's hazel eyes widened into a soft, doe-eyed look of rapture, completely besotted with whatever vision was playing in her head.

"Ooh.. There's an image I didn't need.." The large grey winged wolf on the left side of Hecate's throne shuddered causing his twin brother to repeat the gesture then throw the first wolf a scowl.

"Urh.. Did you have to share it with me?" Neither the nymph or their mistress noticed them and continued on as if they had never spoken.

"Oh, for Fates sake!" The demi-goddess demi-titan witch finally smashed a small bony fist off the arm of her wolf skin throne, flashing a silvery-green narrow-eyed look of disgust at the small pale green-skinned naiad. "Can we _stop_ talking about your obsession with Hades.." She didn't even notice that her two wolf minions had ducked their heads with momentary worried when she hit her throne only to straighten afterwards.

"But you promised—"

"I _promised_ to help you get his attention, not listen to you moon over him!" Hecate squawked out in annoyance resisting the urge to shiver at the thought of the blue flamed god's manipulative seductive side, it still made her skin crawl. She had fallen victim to that too back when he was new to the Underworld throne, they had worked together in the beginning, flirted a bit. Of course she had looked much younger then and so had he. She brought him souls and he sorted them out into the afterlives. She naively fell hook, line and sinker for his charms but of course, once he had bedded her that was it. No more. He turned cold, dismissive and laughed outrageously when she suggested they rule together, sending her away with a burnt chiton. He wasn't going to share his throne with anybody _especially_ not with some witch. That was, _apparently_, beneath him. After that she was hurt and as time went on she became vengeful, wanting to take the Underworld away from him and rule it herself as payback for her humiliation. She learnt one lesson after him. Never to trust Olympian gods again.

"How am I supposed to get his attention if he is sucking face with _her!_" Minthe exclaimed looking irritated, her small fingers curled into fists that shook with her badly repressed annoyance. Hecate rolled her eyes in some boredom at the nymph's whining even though she made a fair point. Then an idea came to her making those silvery green eyes widen and a smirk twist her thin purple painted lips.

"Maybe it's time I had a chat with Persephone myself. It has been a long time since we had a real heart to heart.." She drawled standing up and taking a few steps towards the altar nearby. She casually picked up her scrying bowl then swept up some unknown powder and dropped it in and watched an image form that was unseen to the small nymph and her minions.

"Well, you did say to Demeter you would watch over her daughter." Canis spoke up grinning widely.

"And it would be improper not to at least talk to her once." His brother added with an identical smirk while Minthe looked confused.

"And how will that help?" She quirked a neat brow.

"If I can convince Persephone not to trust him then she won't want to 'suck face' with him anymore." Hecate said lightly.

"Uh. Hello? Aren't you forgetting something? Seph doesn't like you. What makes you think she'll listen?" The small nymph said looking disbelieving towards the tall blue haired witch. Satisfied by whatever it was she had seen in the image she set the bowl back down and the resulting splash caused the image to ebb away in the rippling waters.

"I think I know how to get through to her.." Hecate's smile widened as her eyes narrowed deviously, she had practically watched the goddess grow up and knew her well enough to know what to say. "We're almost at the winter equinox. Hades' workload will soon be at his highest point. Neither he nor his pathetic minions will be able to stop me from seeing her."

"What about all our hard work in spreading the tales of kidnap?" Lupus spoke up, pricking his shaggy ears and looking curious.

"Seems a shame to waste our efforts.." His brother added.

"Don't worry about that. Even if both Demeter and Zeus have gone soft you can be sure that Hera and the rest of the Council haven't. Have patience my pets.. You'll see.. Hades has burnt that bridge.." Her high arched eyebrows then added with a playful edge to her nasty smirk. "No pun intended." She then took hold of her long spindaly blue torch that she used to navigate her way through the dark of the Nether Regions, one of the darkest places in the Underworld next to the Void itself.

"What if that's not enough?" Lupus asked and at this Hecate turned around with a wild, almost manic twist to her already depraved smirk.

"Then we'll just have to appeal to Demeter's deepest fear.." She paused for effect and was rewarded as both her minions and Minthe gasped out in horror. "Hmh.. Won't be hard to get them to believe that Hades could sink to such lows. His attempt with the Titans this summer will secure Council belief."

"You think it will really come to that?" The small green haired nymph spoke in a hushed voice, uncomfortable with what the immortal witch was suggesting. She wanted Persephone repelled from Hades but she knew in her heart this was a low blow, even for Hecate.

"If it gets you your man why do you care?" The witch rolled her silvery green eyes unable to see the problem, in her eyes the ends justified the means. If it meant that Persephone was wrenched away and locked back up on Sicily while Hades was imprisoned for a crimes he didn't commit then so be it. She honestly didn't care one way or another as long as she got what she wanted.. The Underworld throne..

* * *

A heavy sigh escaped the Lord of the Dead who was still sitting behind his desk sifting through the paperwork. He could have easily enough left it for Persephone in the morning, this was what he had her interning for but even he thought that leaving a massive mountain of paperwork was cruel. It was getting late and he hadn't got as far through the pile as he would have liked, mostly because the goddess kept seeping back into his thoughts along with that kiss..

_Why am I so worked up over a girl.. When did I become another schmeil suckered in by a pretty face? _He frowned at the thought of himself succumbing to Persephone. It wasn't as if he had never kissed a girl before and the kiss itself had been a pretty standard kiss. Hadn't it? Subconsciously he bit his own bottom lip, his usually stoic heart quivering with an unfulfilled longing at the mere memory of his lips against hers. He shook his head roughly trying to rid himself of that enticing mental image before he woke up the lustful beast inside.

"Ok, I'm cool, I'm fine.. Deep breaths, deep breaths. Don't go losin' it now." He muttered to himself dumping the current curl of scrolls down and running his fingers through his flames that had brightened a little, the very tips whitening. He shut his eyes and inhaled sharply then exhaled slowly a few times until his flames dimmed back to normal. He was the Lord of the Dead, nobody loved the underworld, nobody loved the dead.. Nobody loved him.

"Evenin' _boy!_" The sudden interruption of this loud voice made Hades give a start, his hands slamming down on the heavy stone desk before he swivelled around to find himself face to face with a hulking great black shadowy figure. This deity only had the top half of his torso solidified, the rest was just an indiscriminate mass of shadows. The Lord of the Dead's shock wore off slightly as he found himself looking into the huge round pale yellow eyes of this deity who shared his angular features, pointed sharp teeth between full grey lips and long angular chin. He was completely black so not even his black toga was visible against his silhouetted form, nor was his hairline that just flicked atop his head in a similar way to Hades' flames.

"Sheesh dad, Whatta ya tryin' t'do, gimmie a heart attack or somethin'?" The blue flamed god's expression turned into slight annoyance at the interruption.

"As if I would be that lucky." Erebus responded, a nasty grin playing about his mouth as he casually leant a huge arm on the side of the window sill, making no effort to swoop inside the office. "Not a crime to stop in on you now, is it?" He kinked a grey brow gazing at his youngest adopted son.

"Not yet.." Hades grumbled under his breath with a narrow-eyed look.

"Been a while since ya stopped by, thought I would check in with you after your little _defeat.._" There it was, that horrible hinted note that told Hades his father had gotten all the gory details of his scheme from the Fates.

"Look, if your here to reprimand me for that—" Hades started to try and appease his father but it was Erebus' turn to throw his son a dead-pan look.

"I'm not." Erebus' casual words ran over his and caught the blue flamed god off guard making him blink a few times in confusion.

"Wait, what? Your not?" He then frowned deeply adding, "Then whatta ya want? In case ya forgot I'mma busy god this time'a year.."

"I just thought I'd warn you about your mother introducing herself to your little lady friend.." The God of Shadows grinned in twisted amusement at the look of disbelief that stuck for a few moments on his son's face before it very quickly twisted into a look of wide-eyed horror.

"_NOHHHHHHHH!~!_" The next second Hades launched himself out of his office window and shot like a smoking bullet to the Grove of Lethe leaving Erebus chuckling darkly, melting into the shadows and following at a more languid pace..

* * *

Checking the time on the shadow dial that Hades had put in the grove for her a couple of weeks perviously Persephone exhaled. Her shoulders sagged a little in disappointment at how late it was and realising that the Lord of the Dead may not be able to come out for dinner. She flopped down on the stone bench by the dial debating whether she should just cook something for them both and take a plate to him. It wouldn't be the first time she had dropped in on him with food while he was working. While he seemed somewhat appreciative it did make her feel like she had become a part-time housewife without the bonus of actually being married. Persephone had never been closed off to the idea of being married despite her mother being so insistent that she didn't need to find a man to define her as a goddess. There was no way she could commit herself to the Vestal Virgin programme like Athena and Artemis, she felt in her heart that would be a mistake and she couldn't honour the promise to stay pure and untouched. Especially now when her feelings for Hades were confusing her more the longer she stayed here. Her brow furrowed as her mind turned to their shared kiss earlier. She was the one who had instigated that. _Her, _not him. Why had she done that? Maybe she was just so grateful to see him in that moment and her feelings just imploded..

"_Ah! _There she _is!_" A high female voice trilled with delight making Persephone blink then turn around in confusion, only to find herself grabbed around her heart shaped face and yanked into a bone crunching hug that could almost rival her mother's. It was only when she was pulled back out and could see the face of the deity that was now examining her. "_Oh,_ now let me have a look at you.."

However the youthful looking daughter of Demeter expected the Lady of the Night to look she couldn't help but stare at primordial goddess holding her. Despite her millenniums of age she still looked like a golden age ethereal beauty. Her deep dark blue hair was pinned up in large bun with a few loose bangs framing her soft oval shaped face. She was wearing large celestial silver earrings that complimented her pale blue skin that looked like it had been kissed by the moon itself due to her silvery aura. Her large almond shaped eyes were a silvery grey and dusted with a deep blue shade that matched her modest floor-length dress. It was similar in cut to her own mother's but twinkled similar to Morpheus' blanket and had a long cape draping around the back of her.

"So young, so thin and nice of face.. No wonder my son likes you.." Nyx murmured, her deep indigo lips tweaked upwards in a warm motherly smile as she squished Persephone's cheeks making the much younger goddess pout unintentionally.

"Excuse me?" Persephone pulled herself out of her grip looking somewhat confused before a loud yell caught her attention making her blonde head turn.

"_Ma!-!_" Hades appeared looking irritated by the Goddess of Night and flaring orange. "Will ya quit it? She don't need you botherin' her.."

"Don't have a kanipshin bube. I just wanted to see the little shiksa that has been keeping you from visiting me.." Nyx waved him off unconcerned by his flame change still smiling warmly. It was obvious that she had raised him as the fiery god merely rolled his eyes like some put upon teenager.

"Wonderful. Great. Fine. Whatever. You seen her so you can _go.._" Hades' flames returned blue as he gestured to the Grove of Lethe exit with both long index fingers.

"What?" Persephone interjected looking shocked, not wanting his adoptive mother to leave as this was the first time meeting his parents.

"_Feh! _What kind of son are you? You don't call, you don't write, you just leave your poor mother to worry. I hear from _Zeus_ more than I hear from you and he's not even my kid! I thought somethin' bad had happened to you bube.." Nyx took hold of Hades' face looking adoringly at him for a moment before lancing him with a stern gaze of concern once more. "You look thin and your aura's waning. Have you eaten?" Hades immediately wrenched himself out of her grip looking annoyed by her mollycoddling.

"Sheesh! Ma! Enough with the fuss!" He exclaimed sharply getting irritated by her nagging and he'd only been in her presence a few minutes.

"We haven't actually eaten yet. I've been waiting for him to—" Persephone began only for the Goddess of Night to start laughing with mirth in a light friendly manner.

"Oh! So sweet but a real Underworld baleboste waits for no god, I can see I have a _lot_ to teach _you_." Immediately her silvery eyes turned to her dark shadowy husband who had been skulking around the edge of the Grove of Lethe. "_Erebus_, we're noshing here.." She called out in an authoritative tone making Persephone realise that she wasn't the kind of goddess you messed around with.

"Figured as much. Just gonna get my evening edition.." The God of Shadows looked unphased by his wife then he disappeared into a mass of shadows nearby.

"Oy _vey.. _Smite me now..." Hades muttered facepalming in disbelief. It was just like his mother to suddenly encroach in on his time and just dictate what was happening, it didn't matter that _he_ was the ruler she was his mother, as she _often_ reminded him.. The moment he pulled his hand away he skilfully masked his annoyance behind a wide wolfish smile. Humouring her had always been the best way of dealing with her, although this meant that his mother would hover around Persephone so he was going to have to duck out before the embarrassing stories started.

"Looks like our plans have changed Seph. Just as well, I may be pulling a late nighter as things stand. _Sohh_.. rain-check?" The blue flamed god flashed a hopeful gaze as he addressed Persephone and she smiled nodding agreeably. She wasn't disappointed because she wouldn't have to spend the evening completely alone.

"Ok, sure. Do you need me to help you tonight?" She added looking fully prepared to give up her free time and get stuck in with him but Hades shook his head making the flames atop his head flicker and fan around before stabilising and settling.

"No, no.. My parents came to meet you, just keep them entertained. Why don'tcha let'em try some'a that new tea blend you've been workin' on? They'll love that." He drawled giving her a sly wink and a slight nudge as the Goddess of Night suddenly looked very interested in this suggestion. "Now, if you'll excuse me ladies I have a mass load of paperwork waiting for me in my office with, hey, my name on it.." He vanished out in a curl of smoke to resume his work leaving the two goddess alone in the Grove of Lethe.

"I tell you what. You steep this new tea and I will teach you some down to Ais home cooking with none of that schlocky stuff.." Nyx smiled brightly wrapping an arm around the lithe younger goddess' shoulders intending to manifest them both to the kitchen.

"You know about the worms then?" Persephone wrinkled her nose at the thought of some the things she had caught Hades snacking on.

"Oy. It's enough to make a mother plotz. I've told him over an' over, those things might be good for an imp but _not_ for a god." Nyx exhaled heavily with a slight frown before it melted away. "But he never listens.. Now, I hope you have some hemlock growing in this charming little garden of yours we're going to need that."

"Yes, of course. It's over here, near the mugwort and witch hazel." Persephone's eyes lit up at the compliment to her growing skills and happily began showing the Goddess of Night to the plant she wanted. After letting the subterranean goddess marvel at her gloomy garden they collected the necessary bits Nyx wanted for whatever recipe she wanted to show the younger goddess and the two materialised to the kitchen to get started..

* * *

The gods on Olympus had gathered in the Great Coliseum dressed in their nightwear, some of them looking bemused and sleepy while others looked concerned. The sound of muttering filled the coliseum as a bemused looking Hermes swept through the throng in his long white bed robe and flopping cap to match, his fluttering blue sandals helping him weave in and out of the sea of multi-coloured beings.

"Whoa! Ho! Watch out, comin' through... Don't mind me lovebirds.." He said as he slipped easily between Aphrodite and Hephaestus making both blink in bemusement at his neon blur, momentarily distracted from their own conversation. The small blue god then turned his gaze to the yellow-clad God of War as he sped passed. "Nice bunny slippers Ares." This made Athena, who was the only one who was still in her daytime armour and chiton with Ibid resting on one finger, to chuckle in amusement at the white fuzzy slippers sticking out the bottom of his night robe that she hadn't noticed until they were pointed out.

"_Hey! _I'm only wearing them cause they were a present from my mom!" The God or War exclaimed hotly to the disappearing Messenger God then glared at his sister for laughing at him.

"Yeh, sure, keep tellin' yourself that." Hermes snickered before finding himself face to face with Hera who was waiting by the podium. "Hera! Where's the big man? Kinda late for him to be callin' a meeting, ain't it?" The small god fluttered unsurely, hovering level with her as he craned his neck looking for the Lord of the Universe.

"He didn't call this meeting. I did." The blonde haired Queen of the Gods replied. "We are just waiting for him and Demeter to arrive so the Council can air their concerns about some rather disturbing rumours circulating the mortal realm these days." Her words made Hermes give a start and drop slightly in altitude before his sandals fluttered faster raising him again.

"But my lady, the rumours aren't—" The small blue god began desperately only to find himself shushed as everyone's attention turned to the entrance of the coliseum as the gods they had been waiting for arrived.

"I don't understand why Hera couldn't wait until morning. What is important that you had to come and—" Demeter's voice broke off as the green-skinned Goddess of Nature with her newly frosted long leaf crown gazed in shock, not expecting a room full of gods to be waiting for them. Her cornflower blue eyes widening. "Oh good _Gaia.._"

"What is this?" Zeus frowned around the room befor his gaze settled on his wife as Hermes sunk to the cloudy ground level to fall below his boss' line of sight. "Hera, why have you called this meeting?"

"Some of us in the council, including myself, have some _concerns_ regarding Persephone being in the Underworld with Hades." The pink-skinned goddess who's blonde hair tinged with the rosy glow of her aura. "_Especially_ after what happened with the Titans and Hercules this summer." Her words made a ripple of murmurs from the gathering of gods.

"With all due respect honey Persephone is Demeter's daughter, not yours." Zeus responded in an unconcerned manner. "She and my brother have an agreement that her daughter will return at the beginning of spring after a six month internship. I admit that I, personally wouldn't have sent her there but she is Demeter's ward until she finds her purpose in the pantheon which means if she trusts his word, I will hold him to it."

"But Persephone is a sheltered untouched maiden and he's the _bloomin_' Lord of the Underworld!" Athena suddenly spoke up looking irate. "What's to stop him pressing his advance upon her!" Next to her Ares suddenly started howling with laughter at her words. "And what, dear brother, do you find so funny?"

"I'm sorry 'Thena but this is Hades we're talking about.." The red skinned God of War stifled his laughter badly. "He couldn't seduce a blind gorgon!" His words caused several of the males in the coliseum to chuckle including Cupid, Apollo, Hephaestus who got elbowed by Aphrodite and the King of the Gods who stopped after a dark look from his wife.

"Zeus, Hades tried to kill our son, our _mortal_ son—" She began but Demeter, who was starting to get annoyed which only cause the frost on her corn leaf crown to thicken.

"Did it ever _dawn_ on you that perhaps the Fates _wanted_ him to be mortal? Maybe he was always meant to be the most famous mortal on Gaia's surface and they used Hades to make it happen.." The green skinned goddess cut over her sister's words kinking her neat red brow upwards in disbelief and a fresh wave of whispers of went around the group. Some confused and others seemed to understand and agree. "They are known for doing things for reasons we don't fully understand."

"W-well.. I suppose it's not outside the realm of possibility..." Hera turned her lavender-eyed gaze away from her green skinned sister for a moment, unable to argue with her logic. "But still, are you sure you want Persephone down there?"

"The Fates are the ones who sent her there, not me." Demeter replied folding her arms and this made most of the gods gasp out in surprise with Zeus, Hermes and Narcissus the only ones not shocked, the latter was actually gazing into his red mirror while listening. "Apparently Hades was missing but has since been located and my daughter offered to stay and help him catch up on his workload."

"Hades was missing?" The Lord of Olympus blinked several times in shock.

"Uh, yeh.. Apparently Persephone found him at the bottom of the Pool of Lethe, musta been where he ended up after our boy Herc socked him into the Vortex of Phlegethon." Hermes chipped in at this point then flashed a guilty grin sucking air through his teeth. "My bad sir, totally forgot to mention that sooner.." His words made Zeus groan heavily.

"Yes, well.. As long as my little brother is back doing his job that's the main thing and as long as he returns Persephone by Spring I see no reason to intervene at this point. I suggest that you all ignore the stories that have been flying around the mortal realm as I believe they have been debunked. Does anyone else have anything to add?" The white haired god looked sternly around the gathering of gods, many of whom shared a glance with their fellows standing next to them. Nobody dared voice a further opinion on the matter as their golden-skinned ruler seemed to be silently daring any of them to challenge his authority. "Good. Then the matter is closed and this meeting is adjourned." He then stretched out yawning loudly as the open air coliseum began to empty, the gathering of gods filing out and seemingly quelled for now.

"_Dear_." Hera sounded in a somewhat firm voice, not quite as satisfied as her fellow gods. "I still don't think it's wise—"

"Hera, will you relax. I just finished telling Demeter that I have asked Nyx to check in on her on my behalf and apparently Hecate too is watching out for her, Persephone is perfectly safe. Now why don't you go to bed and stop worrying. I will be up shortly." The King of the Gods spoke easily having no difficulty in hiding his meeting with Hades and what had transpired. Hopefully his brother was smart enough to take him up on his offer before Spring or he would have to find another way to make sure they got together. He was banking on the Goddess of Night to help reinforce the fact that the two were well matched for each other. After all, nobody knew Hades as well as she did..

"Oh. Alright.." The Goddess of Marriage sighed, finally submitting to the will of her husband then turning to her sister. "Forgive me, I was only speaking out of concern for our niece."

"I understand Hera, it's alright. Have a good sleep." The Goddess of Nature smiled warmly at her younger sister and the two women embraced before the Queen of the Gods departed being the last one to leave the coliseum.

"I'm terribly sorry about all this Demeter, heh, everyone's been somewhat on edge on account of what happened during the summer. You can't blame them for being worried." Zeus apologised to his green-skinned sister-in-law with a gentle smile. "You will be staying here tonight, won't you? Winter is upon us now and the surface gets a little cold, doesn't it?"

"I suppose it does." The green skinned goddess replied agreeably, happy to have room and board here and it would make sense while her daughter was away from the surface to stay. "And I would be lying if I said I didn't have some concerns about my daughter. I just hope she's alright down there.."

"Come now Demeter, Persephone is headstrong and wilful. I imagine my brother has his hands full just trying to rein her in. But if something _did happen_ Hades will be answering to me. I can assure you of that." There was a momentary ominous look in those far off looking sky blue eyes before it lifted and he continued. "Try not to worry so much.." Zeus smiled warmly back at the Goddess of Nature, bidding her a goodnight. With a heavy sigh Demeter looked up at the stars before she too retreated to her Olympus home.

* * *

Completely oblivious to the fact that he had been the subject of an emergency meeting of the gods high on Olympus the blue flamed god was back behind the heavy grey stone desk in his office. He had left it breifly to share dinner with his parents, purely because he knew the Goddess of Night would have just marched into his office and hauled him out by his pointed ear if he hadn't and he didn't want that kind of embarrassment around Persephone. But his attention was quickly drawn back to the grindstone of his busy workload and he had been more than happy to abandon his parents who both seemed to be enraptured by his pretty young house guest with a fondness for dark spaces and poisonous plants. When he'd left the table they were all drinking her 'belladonna blend' and she was sharing her thoughts on some new 'hybrid' she had apparently found time to work on. His large yellow eyes were scanning over the latest purchase request that had been sent his way, he had been going over these with a fine-toothed comb since finding some discrepancies on his statement that suggested the imps had been buying junk from catalogues in his absence. He had been meaning to interrogate them about it but had found himself snowed under in work, not unusual for this time of year.

"Knockie, knockie.." A dangerously familiar light girly voice sounded along with soft knocking to the thick door before it pushed open to reveal Persephone holding his usual white mug with the large black 'H' on the side. She smiled sweetly at him as she entered the room revealing the contents to be a steaming cup of nectar.

"So, are my parents gone?" Hades queried making the youthful blonde goddess roll those pretty olive green eyes, as she shook her head in some rueful amusement.

"_Yes_ Hades, they're gone. Your free to come out your hidey-hole." Her voice too sounded somewhat mocking in it's jaded tone but the blue-flamed god didn't care as his blue flames brightened in delight at this news and his fist curled as his pumped his arm in a 'get in' gesture.

"_Perfecto!_" He declared brightly dumping his paperwork down and pushing himself out the black bony swivel seat. He took the two strides round his desk to where the much shorter white-skinned goddess stood and took the mug she was still holding adding gleefully, "Knew it was only a matter of time before they left for their nightly stroll.." His pupils then studied the nectar in his cup before they turned back to her. "This better not be decaf, gotta have my wits about me for court t'night. Last thing I need is to be fallin' asleep before sentencing."

"Sentencing?" Persephone quirked both brows upwards intrigued as the blue flamed god took a large drought of nectar.

"Yep, riff on the stiff is this guy was a real bad dude. I'll spare you the gory details but apparently he was causin' a real scene, the imps had to detain him in the holdin' cells and their just waitin' for me to come deal with him. That's where I'm headin' now.." Hades spoke before finishing off the nectar nectar before passing her and handing over the now empty mug.

"Let me come with you." The blonde goddess said as she followed, the mug in her fingers vanishing in a swirl of orbs that's fell behind her as she passed through it in her haste to keep pace. Hades didn't get far as the moment those words escaped her mouth he stopped dead in his tracks making Persephone bump into him.

"I'm sorry. What? I must still have a chunk'a brimstone in my ear from doin' the rounds earlier." The fiery god dug a finger casually in his ears and flicked away a tiny glowing ember. "Wanna run that by me again?" He grinned widely but this made Persephone ball her fists as her arms straightened down the sides of her round hips.

"_Really! _Your _still_ not going to let me see inside your court?" She huffed, the end of her hair flared up in flames as annoyance filled her being. "Are you kidding me? Even after I put my own would-be _abductor_ in that stupid chair!" Her green eyes glared at him, hinting at the true extent of her rage.

"_Urh_.. Persephone, don't start with this. This is not the time, ok?" The blue flamed god exhaled heavily, not wanting to argue about this but unable to understand why she couldn't see that he was just trying to protect her. If anything happened to her down here he was bound to incur the wrath of the entire god squad and he didn't want that.

"_No! _This is the perfect time. You think I can't handle it?" She snapped, the illusion of fire that was her hair seemed to climb higher and the blue god felt himself sweat, not out of fear but because the temperature of the his home rose with her anger.

"I never said that."

"_You don't have to!_ It's clear you just think I'm some stupid little _girl!_" Her wide green eyes glared up at this last word and with it her hair dropped back down as she trembled, suddenly looking more upset than mad now. When she spoke again her voice seemed void of any emotion and was almost a whisper, deadly quiet compared to the screeching before. "I can't believe I thought you were different from the others.." She turned away clasping a small dainty hand in front of her mouth as if she couldn't believe she had just said that out loud. Tears flowing free and streaking her black kohl liner now that she wasn't facing him anymore. "I have to go.." The youthful looking goddess then disappeared out into a swirl of orbs.

"Seph.." Hades had pushed a large hand out to stop her then exhaled heavily when the orbs faded out leaving him alone before he could. "Well, I wouldn't know what to say anyway.." He grumbled to himself with an exaggerated shrug of annoyance, making a mental note to try figure out what to say to her when she showed up for her office shift tomorrow. Usually when he got yelled at by other gods it didn't bother him. He was used to ruffling feathers in the pantheon but when it was her fury that was aimed in his direction it actually hurt. It made him feel terrible about himself but he would mask it until he saw her again. He took a brief moment to pull himself together then stalked off towards the the long stairwell that would take him down to the docks where the imps would no doubt be waiting for him..

**_Little Notes:_**

**_Hey guys, told you I would be back on Tues.. Really trying hard to keep the regular updates once again. Also, don't forget about my poll, if I make it to 100 reviews I will write another little ficlet of your choosing and I have some great options for you._**

**_Ok, back to this chapter. I had forgotten how much fun Erebus and Nyx were to write. The God of Shadows hasn't really changed in design, he was always kinda based off Tim Curry and his character of Hexxus in Ferngully. This god isn't evil he just naturally dark in personality. His humour is somewhat cruel and he can come off as very foreboding without trying but underneath it he's a pretty reasonable god who cares for his family deeply. Nyx's design has changed a small amount but her personality is the same. She loves her family, maybe a bit too much. I've always based her off Barbara Streisand and how she portrayed the mum in Meet the Fockers. She embodies the _****_whole stereotype of the over attentive mother that just wants the best for her adopted son and maybe mothers him a bit too much out of her worry for his wellbeing.._**

**_We also finally gave the Olympus gang getting in here because it's about time they showed up. The rumours floating around were bound to cause a stir up there and I've tried to keep there reactions consistent with the fact that the end of the Hercules movie was obviously six months previously so it will be affecting how many of the gods see Hades right now.._**

**_The chapter title is from the Killers song Mr Brightside lyrics "It started with a kiss, how did it end up like this, it was only a kiss, it was only a kiss" and is my poke at how you will all be reacting by the time you reach the end of the chapter. Don't be too upset but for the next part of the story it's necessary for the two to be apart.. __S.Y. N. T_**

**_Stay tuned..._**

**_A~Teal_**


	19. Praxidyke The Bringer Of Light

** Plight of Persephone**

_Ok people, you know the score, I do not own Hercules, Disney does and even though they have not issued plans for a live action redo, give it time. Everything else seems to be getting the treatment so I wouldn't be shocked if it happened. And since Disney aren't entertaining the idea of a remake, I decided I would. Don't worry, you do not need to have read any of my other stories to read this one and the original is NOT going anywhere, it stays here where it belongs.. I do own this version of Persephone and all other original characters and places that come up, permission and advice is always given to those who want to use them but do tell me if you use my characters so I may view and comment on your work.. Just like the original I will be basing this story around Greek myths and twisting them around just like Disney did, I will also be reworking some of_ _the original plot lines.. Please review and let me know your thoughts.. Thank you for your time. Enjoy! _

* * *

**Reviews:**

**Sharkeygirl: Haha, yeh.. He doesn't make life easy for himself and I'm happy you like Nyx and Erebus, I love writing those two. They are so easy to write.. x**

**Guest: (chap1) If your not trolling me I'm really disappointed because your comment is neither funny, nor clever.. And I feel I can call you out for it cause I highly doubt you got this far with a comment like that **

**Destroyerman: Yeh, he got a rough deal considering he got catfished by the Fates at the start of the movie. I get the impression he had been plotting longer than then but they really sold the idea to him so I just used it as the starting point for this rewrite.. X**

* * *

_**Chapter Nineteen: Praxidyke The Bringer of Light**_

The blue flamed god muttered to himself as he paced back and forth with a somewhat concerned expression as he waiting for the imps to return with news. They had just passed the winter solstice, the mortals on the surface were celebrating the twelve days of Saturnalia and he was up to his eyeballs in dead souls. Nothing new there then. This was the busiest time of year for the Lord of the Dead but there was one glaring thing that was impeding him and his minions from getting on with his job.

"_Urh..._ Where could she have gone.." He muttered to himself before slumping down in his throne looking glum, leaning his long chin in his large bony hand. Neither he or the imps had seen Persephone in the last few days, in fact the last time that Hades had seen her was when the two of them had fallen out. She hadn't shown up for her shift the next day. When he went to the guest room he'd given her it was clear the bed hadn't even been slept in. All her home-grown cosmetics, perfumes and ointments remained in the bottles, vials and small ramekins he had given her and the hairbrush and hand-held mirror were untouched nearby. Her long abandoned short purple chiton was hanging up and the small plants she had been tending to were still sitting in damp soil pots in the wide window-sill that looked out over the Grove of Lethe.

She hadn't left the Underworld. It was winter up on the surface and she despised the cold as much as he did so she was stuck here until spring. After waiting the first few days to see if she would return of her own volitation, believing that she was just trying to out-wit him by making him worry about her. _Dammit_, she was succeeding! Of course, now he had snapped, unable to go on without knowing that she was safe and unharmed. That and he couldn't concentrate on the job he needed to be doing because he knew she was just off waltzing around his Underworld without a flaming escort. So today he had finally sent the imps to go and locate her and either sweet-talk her back or drag her back kicking and screaming. At this point either way was fine by him as long as she was back under his roof so he didn't have to worry about her and work could resume. His buisness was losing productivity over this.

Now here he was waiting for those two morons to return...

"Unbelievable! I'm just shocked! _Shocked! _I tell ya..." He ranted to himself under his breath looking irritable, removing his chin from his hand and fidgeting restlessly in his huge stone throne. "Can't concerntrate on my _damn_ job because of one stubborn little goddess decides to do a disappearing act at _the worst possible moment! _If she were a minion I'd—" He broke off at the sound of small feet pattering and swivelled his head to see both Pain and Panic minus the goddess he had sent them out to collect.

"_Well!_" He prompted them in a loud annoyed voice when they stopped at the steps below him and just stood there looking gormless and somewhat nervous.

"We couldn't find her.." Pain replied in a timid voice as Panic, naturally tried to make himself inconspicuous next to his much larger frame.

"Oh. You couldn't find her.. That's it. I see.. That's all you gotta say about it, then fine." The blue flamed god uttered calmly before pushing himself out of his throne, towering over them now looking furious, his skin flashed through orange and into a dangerous red. This made both imps quiver in fear as his flames extended and quivered yellow. "If we don't find her then I could have a serious problem, which means _you got an even bigger problem! Comprende vous? Now. Go. Find. Her! NOW!-!" _He roared out, releasing his rage in a huge detonation that caused a seismic movement in the Underworld as fire exploded out of him in all directions and the imps fled from the throne room terrified.

After a moment of heavy breathing Hades slowly returned blue and moved towards the huge circular map of Greece that had a few of his heavier figurines weighing down the curling corners of the blue scroll that detailed his realm. He picked up the figurine of Persephone and gazed at it in concern, sighing heavily.

"Where are you?"

* * *

_..."I'm sorry miss, I didn't catch your name. Do you know where we are?" The bald-headed pale-blue skinned god said with confusion in his round yellow eyes, blinking innocently at the white skinned girl with long sweeping blonde hair knelt beside him. He seemed completely unaware of the fact that he was saturated in Lethe water._

_"Y-you don't remember?" Persephone had asked flashing him with a pitying look and he frowned thoughtfully for a moment, watching as the young goddess' white aura extended into him, the heat of it drying him..._

_"No. Should I?" Hades had blinked at her before his yellow eyes..._

* * *

...When Persephone had fled the House of Hades, unable to bring herself to stay in the home of a god who didn't think she had any worth, she found herself hiding out in the Groves of Purgatory. She found comfort in being surrounded by the plants and trees that she had grown as a tot. She had no memory of growing them but they felt familiar to her and that was all she wanted right now, somewhere familiar. She couldn't stop the tears still streaming down her face as she dropped herself onto the raised roots of one of her large grey cypress trees, cuddling into the natural curve of the base.

"Persephone? What are you doing out here all alone? Surely Hades told you this place is dangerous to those unfamiliar with its terrain." A familiar drawling feminine voice sounded making the young goddess look up and scowl.

"Go away Hecate. I don't want to talk to you." The blonde goddess stated trying to stiffle an sniff as she wiped her tears away smearing her make-up across her face. "Not after all the trouble you've started.."

"What trouble?" The witch asked with a convincing innocent look that was well practised.

"Don't act dumb. I know you started those rumours about Hades kidnapping me." Persephone rolled her eyes in slight irritation.

"Me? Why would I do that! Your mother asked me to watch over you and to make sure Hades was treating you with respect." Hecate continued feigning offence. "I admit I've kept my distance due to not seeing eye-to-eye with him but I still care about you.." She perched herself on the tree root next to her.

"If it wasn't you then who was it?" Persephone shot at her before exhaling heavily.

"Is there someone else down here you could have annoyed lately?" Hecate asked curiously.

"Well... Minthe, she was pretty mad when she thought Hades and I were a couple. But she apologised so I let her hibernate here." The blonde goddess said then frowned. "She's asleep now and why would she want to spread rumours about me?"

"Beings do crazy things when their in love.." The witch grinned widely, Demeter's daughter truly had no idea how mad her 'friend' was and how she was in a prime position to hear everything that had gone on between her and Hades.

"Urgh.. That's the kind of thing Aphrodite comes out with." Persephone wrinkled her nose in disgust. "If you come out with 'its better to have loved than never love at all' I'm going to hurl."

"Doesn't make it any less true." Hecate chuckled warmly, reminded of the parts of Persephone's character that she liked. She wasn't going to hurt the younger goddess, more just get her out of the way so she couldn't interfere in her coop.

"Your not helping. Isn't that what your supposed to be doing?" The blonde goddess frowned.

"Alright.. So how did Hades manage to crush your spirit?" The soft-violet skinned witch asked pulling a spider web shaped handkerchief out of a glow of blue and passing it to the much younger goddess. Persephone accepted it and wiped the running make-up off her face.

"I thought we were becoming friends then he just revealed that he doesn't see any real potential in me. I'm just some no-nothing goddess destined to fade into obscurity.. I just want to feel like I matter somewhere, is that really too much to ask?" The white-skinned goddess' frown melted into a forlorn look. Everyone else she knew had a real purpose, a divine right and domain of their own but she had always struggled to find a niche of her very own, there was nowhere that seemed to fit.

"I wouldn't take it _too_ personally. Hades is very territorial. When another deity shows talent in the Underworld he uses it, abuses it then tries to snuff it out because _he_ thinks they want to takeover his job. When all they really want to do is help.." The witch said with a well practised sad expression and it made Persephone frown a little.

"You mean you? But I heard you've tried to steal his throne from under him.." The goddess frowned doubtfully at her words. Was this a trick. It didn't seem like one but how could she be sure? She knew Hecate was a well-practised liar but she was also her mother's friend and she had never heard her speak about her relationship with Hades.

"I wanted to be Queen once, when I was young and beautiful like you.." The older-looking witch exhaled heavily. "When I first came here from Egypt my mother told me my talents lay in the darkest realm. So here I came, hoping to serve the new Lord of the Dead and like a _fool_ I fell for his charms too. At first, he entertained them and I served with grace. I thought we would rule together.." Her silvery-green eyes looked far away as if reminiscing with a small smile then it faded into a hurt and angry look. "And then... it was over. He doesn't want a Queen and he isn't willing to share.. He will just use you if you let him. _Don't_ give him that power."

"Oh. I'm sorry Hecate, I didn't realise that was the reason why you disliked him so." Persephone said with pity, feeling a horrible twist in her stomach now that she knew for sure that Hades wasn't interesting in helping her find out why she was getting prayers down here. "I know we don't always get on but I think it's pretty cool what you can concoct with my plants.." She smiled at the witch, remembering the experimentations that the Hecate had done during her time on Sicily staying with her mother when she was a girl. It was only now after hearing this tale that Persephone realised she had probably being staying with them due to being rejected by Hades and needed some support from her mother.

"Well, that's nice of you to say." The soft violet skinned witch smiled, with a naturally crooked edge to her smirk. "I wonder if Hades feels threatened by you.."

"What do you mean?" Persephone blinked.

"Well, your mother told me you grew these trees and I have seen the changes you've made by the Pool of Lethe." Hecate flashed her a wicked gleam. "I recognise your work and you realise that the Underworld has been much warmer down here since you arrived."

"Oh, I see. I didn't mean to make him uncomfortable. I don't want him thinking I'm trying to takeover 'cause I'm not." She frowned a little before suddenly turning to the older witch with a curious look. "You wouldn't know how to get to the Elysian Fields do you? I think I just want to lay low somewhere I know he won't go or think to send his imps to look for me."

"Why don't you just materialise there?" Hecate replied then found herself gripped and brought into a hug by the blonde goddess and able to smell the soft floral perfume she was wearing.

"Thank you for listening." Persephone replied softly feeling happier than she had before talking to the witch. She then vanished in a swirl of bright white orbs. Hecate then exhaled heavily after she had gone grateful that the young goddess wasn't going back to Hades and feeling a strange sense of guilt realising that since the hero plan hadn't worked she would have no choice but to go ahead with her last resort. After sitting on this information for a few days and making the Lord of the Dead squirm..

* * *

When the white-skinned goddess rematerialised she found herself squinting as the light was so bright. It took her green eyes to adjust as it had been so long since she had experienced daylight but eventually she began to focus. She appeared to be on the surface but everything looked as if it was too good to be true. The grass was too green, the waters of the river was too pure, too clean. She turned her head to the left of her and saw the shimmering barrier that separated them from the now pitch black looking darkness that she knew was the rest of the Underworld.

Had it always been that dark?

Nearby was the pomegranate bush she had grown on the day Hades had given her the tour. It was still alive...

"_Praxidyke_.."

"Could it be?"

"Is it she?""

"She has come at last.."

In an instant Persephone found herself surrounded by what could only be corporal dead souls who were all looking bright eyed and awed by the presence of a goddess in their realm, just as the Fates had predicted she would come.. The Bringer of Light, they're Praxidyke..

* * *

_...back in present time..._

_"Oy, _Hecate babe, whatever this is, I'm not in the mood, 'kay?" Hades drawled rubbing his temples as the witch and her pair of slobbering winged beasts arrived in his throne room.

"Oh. I'm not here for _you... _I was hoping to have a word with Persephone." Hecate drawled with her friendliest smile.

"Urh, she's not here right now." The blue fiery god exhaled. "And your giving me a migraine.."

"So the rumours are true?" The witch asked making her minions grin.

"Undead tongues are wagging.." Canis said miking his brother nod smiling.

"And they sure do like to talk." Lupus added brightly before both wolf minions cringed at Hades flared an angry orange in their direction as he had never liked minion back-chat and would smite them regardless of whoever they were in servitude to.

"Ignore them. I'll deal with them later." Hecate added in a friendly manner, waving her minions off. "Demeter wants me to keep an eye on her and to do that I have to _see_ her. The rumours say that you managed to frighten her away." Her silvery green eyes spied the blue-scroll map and figures holding it open. Along with it was the figure of Persephone that looked like it had been created with care.

"How about this? When I see her next I will tell her you were askin' about her.." Hades turned his stern gaze back to the witch slowly darkening to a seething red skin tone. "Now, unless your lookin' for a new burn hole in that chiton.. _get out!_"

* * *

"The Lord of Darkness must be angry with his minions again.." The soft silvery voice of the minty skinned winged nymph with light silvery blonde hair said as the green grassy ground beneath her shook. This seismic activity had made her two sisters as well as the young white-skinned goddess with long flowing golden blonde hair turn their collective eyes to the barrier separating them from the rest of the dark gloomy Underworld. Upon arriving here three days ago Persephone had found herself in the company of the three Sirens, who she discovered didn't hibernate but took refuge down here where the temperatures mimicked summer on the surface.. They were delighted by her presence and kindly dispersed the flock of good souls that had crowded her, wanting a glimpse of this new goddess in their home realm. They had shown her around and been keeping her company in a realm that was the opposite of the rest of the Underworld. It was bright, happy and perpetually daylight.. At this moment they were relaxing with fruit in a gazebo while the three Sirens were painting her nails with a dark polish, combing her long hair and chatting amibly like they had been friends for years not days..

"Must be.." Persephone responded with a solemn nod trying to ignore that hollow pit in her stomach wondering if part of it had been about her running off three days ago. She then turned to the identical three nymph girls with white feathery wings looking curiously. "But I still don't understand something. You told me on my first day here that the Fates said your Queen would come and you've been waiting every winter in the hopes of serving her. Why do you think that was me?" As she spoke the slim fingers of the Siren behind her wound another pink-striped asphodel in her long blonde hair so it sat neatly behind her ear, pinning back the pesky bang that liked to flop across her face.

"Because the Fates told us a goddess would come. And your the only one who's ever come here.." Tele grinned as she finished combing Persephone's golden blonde hair and sat back beside her.

"We've been waiting so long for you to come. We couldn't believe it was you. Imagine, Demeter's daughter the Queen of the Underwor—" Molpe, the Siren that had been sitting on Persephone's other side and had just finished painting her nails a deep mauve colour. She was silenced by scowling middle sister Raidne who clamped both hands over her mouth.

"What?" Persephone gave a start almost choking on the grape she had been eating. "But Hecate said Hades won't share his realm.."

"Hades only rules half the Underworld. The Elysian Fields and the Isles of the Blessed have no ruler yet.." Tele added and this made Persephone frown.

"I thought Zeus—" The youthful looking goddess started.

"He only holds the deeds. He never comes here. The Fates said only a goddess can rule these lands, he's probably waiting for one to reveal herself as ruler." Raidne answered with a confident grin.

"But I can't rule. I wouldn't even know how!" The white skinned goddess looked somewhat panicked.

"You've been interning under Hades. Right?" Molpe asked tilting her head curiously.

"Well, yeh.. But he's only taught me the basics and he refuses to teach me how to judge souls.." Persephone frowned still somewhat annoyed about that but no longer upset about it like she was when she first arrived.

"But that's all you need. The three judges on Doom service already do the rest.." Tele looked excited gripping her hands with an excited look.

"I don't know... I-I probably should be getting back to Hades. I still owe him three months of interning." The white-skinned goddess responded unsurely getting to her feet and looking around the rest of the wide expanse of fields. Their were souls of children here playing together and looking joyful. She had never seen children in her time looking after Underworld souls but this made sense now, of course they were all here. The adults were either relaxing or harvesting the bountiful crops that never waned. There were women and men here too, not all of them heroes which had been surprising. She hadn't realised that more than just heroes could access this realm, she'd been taught this place was just for heroes. Perhaps Zeus didn't really understand this place after all..

Many of the souls near her waved cheerfully to her. It had taken some time to convince them that they didn't need to exalt her presence, she didn't feel deserving and their constant praise of her beauty and grace was uncomfortable.

"Will you think about returning near spring? The workload lessens then and we would be honoured to see you again." Raidne said gripping her fingers as her sister let go.

"You could think about this place. If you do chose to rule, we would be honoured to be in your employ. We would do anything you wished, you need only ask.." Molpe completed this plea with a neat curtesy, lifting the edges of her pale blue chiton as she lowered herself. Her two sisters stepped back and repeated the gesture with dutiful smiles.

"You've all been very kind but I wouldn't even know where to begin.." Persephone said and all the Sirens looked at each other and shared a smile.

"Begin with the prayers.." They chorused together and their words echoed the words of Atropos who had advised Hades to teach her how to hone prayers. Since arriving in these fields the voices had ceased completely almost as if they had been seated by her mere presence.

"The souls here have been praying to their ruler. For what we're unsure but we know that she will answer them when she is ready to accept her mantle.." Tele said clasping her hands together.

"Right.." Persephone replied with an unsure frown. The voices had been asking for answers and for another chance at life. She knew how to soothe and reassure frightened and confused souls, she was well practised at that from the Soul Booth and had offered the few souls mitigation that had come to her here seeking it. Both the Sirens and souls seemed to think that was enough to proclaim her Praxidyke, Lady of the Dead.. But she couldn't help but feel as if this was an unearned title. She needed to go back and face Hades. At least she could confirm that this was indeed where the prayers were coming from.

If only she knew how to let them get another chance at life, then maybe she would feel more like she deserved this position.

"Would one of you show me how to return to the domain of Hades?" She added politely and immediately all three Sirens gasped out.

"_I will!_" They all trilled together with matching vapid smiles and delighted expressions.

* * *

The sound of soft footsteps made Hades growl in irritation. The nerve of that witch.. She _dared_ to come back after he had sent her away. His flames slowly burned orange as his fists curled tightly and tinged orange as he barely restrained himself from summoning fie in his palms.

"Really, Hecate are you trying to—" The fiery god spun around, his flaming hair disappearing in shock as he found himself face to face with the goddess he had had his minions searching for for the past few days. "Persephone..." He breathed out as relief loosened his heart which had been feeling oddly tight and constricted since her absence.

"Hades.." The goddess said looking somewhat nervous. "I'm sorry I was gone so long—" She was stopped from speaking as a long pale blue-greyish finger pressed against her lips as Hades blue flames returned along with his wide leering smirk.

"I probably had a hand in that." The Lord of the Dead uttered softly trying to ignore the fact that she felt as soft as she did by the Pool of Lethe when they'd kissed. "For what it's worth I don't think you can't handle anything about this job but your are just an intern, not a full member of staff. As such there are certain aspects of this job that for your protection, and mine, that you can't see.."

"That's fair, I guess." Persephone smiled, it wasn't what she had hoped for but she understood his reason behind it. He didn't just think she was worthless after all..

"Now, we have to talk about the fact that you owe me three days of work." Hades straightened with a back to business expression, removing his hand from her and flashing her a serious look. "I've had a serious dip in productivity in your absence and I'll need you to put in some overtime to help me get it back on track."

"Sure, anything to help.." She then winked with a girlish smirk. "Does this mean someone has missed me?"

"Remind me why I hired you and I'll give you the answer then." Hades flashed a wicked grin back although Persephone could see the answer shining back at her in his large round pupils..

**_Little Notes:_**

**_Hey guys, sorry this chapter is a little shorter than usual. I just wanted to explore Hecate a little more. Her hatred for Hades was never really explained in the series but I wanted to put it into context a bit more. While I don't doubt that Hecate is a disgruntled employee or ex-employee, I also wanted to make her a jilted lover. I feel this makes her bitterness all the more real and her motives sharper. I know in myths she was a confidant of Persephone and served as her advisor but this is based on how Disney chose to depict her, I'm just working around the confines they set out. Minthe too is a jilted lover but unlike Hecate who probably had a short-lived relationship with Hades in his youth the naiad was a one time thing, she just misread his intentions for what they were._**

**_The Elysian Fields only came up once in the Hercules series ' the Driving Test' and it did seem a bit bizarre that Hades would be shut off from something that was his in myth but here Zeus isn't to be blamed, though Hades my feel that's the case. In this story the Fates closed it off until the rightful goddess came to claim it. More details will come of this later.._**

**_Stay tuned for more soon.._**

**_A~Teal_**


	20. The Actions Of Miss Flowers And Orbs

**Plight of Persephone**

_Ok people, you know the score, I do not own Hercules, Disney does and even though they do not have plans for— What? They do! DAMMIT! Son of a Titan—! I knew it! I KNEW they would do a god damn live action remake! ***Agent of Teal facepalms wearily*** I hope none of the executives got the idea from reading this story, now that would be awkward ...I'm sorry, back too the disclaimer.. Don't worry, you do not need to have read any of my other stories to read this one and the original is NOT going anywhere, it stays here where it belongs.. I do own this version of Persephone and all other original characters and places that come up, permission and advice is always given to those who want to use them but do tell me if you use my characters so I may view and comment on your work.. Just like the original I will be basing this story around Greek myths and twisting them around just like Disney did, I will also be reworking some of_ _the original plot lines.. Please review and let me know your thoughts.. Thank you for your time. Enjoy! _

* * *

**Reviews:**

**Sharkeygirl: Yeh, she knows for sure where the prayers are coming from and even answered a few without fully realising what she was doing.. It's staring her right in the face but she still can't see the truth.. X**

* * *

_A~N: Hey guys, just a little reminder to you guys to vote on the poll that can be found on my profile page. Surprised that the more perverse of you haven't voted for the lemon one-shot I'm offering considering the amount of requests I get for one. Also on offer are Thanatos and Hercules discussing the anti-hero, a part 2 to the Tapestry of Fate episode and Maleficent and Hades reacting to Descendants.. Plenty of time guys but please don't make me cast the deciding vote this time.. Diminishes the point. If the same one that I ignored last time is in the deadlock, it will win by default..._

* * *

**_Chapter Twenty: The Actions Of Miss Flowers And Orbs_**

The following weeks had been tough for the youthful looking blonde goddess as she found herself working harder than she had ever worked during any other internship she had undertaken. Hades was unsurprisingly a firm taskmaster and even though the workload was arduous and the overtime was long Persephone continued to drudge on, even though the lack of sleep was making her aggivated, sullen and somewhat immature emotionally. In contrast to her the Lord of the Dead seemed to become more cheerful, focused and laid back with the lack of sleep and she had found herself hiding out in his office as his attitude grated her nerves after a while. In response to their somewhat switched personalities the imps had been avoiding the blonde goddess as their mistakes meant they were now more likely to be punished by her, something that just seemed to make Hades laugh in glee and this only infuriated her more.

By the time that work finally started slow down Persephone felt as if she'd walked enough in her heeled shoes to develop sores like a mortal usually would. Once she slumped down in Hades large stone throne the youthful looking goddess exhaled and pulled off her heeled shoes, tossing them away and letting them clatter down the steps away from her. Her newly freed toes had a deep mauve colour still sitting neatly on her toenails where Raidne had painted them weeks earlier. She smiled and wriggled her toes then absent-mindedly reached up and stroked the soft petals of the striped asphodels still sitting on the left side of her head. Her pixie-like ears picked up the sounds of Hades and his minions coming up the long stairway from the docks. She would have gotten up but the blonde goddess was just so exhausted and her slim white legs felt heavy so they just hung over the edge, unable to reach the floor due to the immense size of the stone throne. Uninterested in what they were doing Persephone merely leaned to the right and rested her head against the cold back rest.

"—we need you to sign here, and here.. And to accept the latest order of brimstone, we need you to sign here, and here.." Pain could be heard, obviously they were getting the Lord of the Dead to sign off on the paperwork that she couldn't do. Persephone frowned to herself, she had given them that paperwork yesterday morning, how in the cosmos did it take them so long to get it to him?

"Oh. Tartarus Inspection is complete, every soul present and accounted for.. And the Demon of Misery has put in a requisition form for more studded lashes for the worst offenders in Tartarus.. Our father thinks some inmates are getting complacent." Panic added making the goddess groan out, guess who was going to be responsible for getting in touch with the Hundred Handed with that order of shipment. Sometimes she wondered why she had even agreed to this job..

"Alright, alright.. Enough.. I'll have Persephone make the orders when—" The fiery god sounded uncharacteristically good natured, although there was a slight irked look in his yellow eyes suggesting that his insomniac related good mood could be tested with any more tedious paperwork. "Speak of the goddess.." He uttered moving swiftly towards the blonde deity slouched in his massive seat. "_Ahem_.. Do you mind?" He added folding his arms, his black pupils motioning her to move out of his seat.

"No. Not my fault your etiquette is lacking in producing adequate seating arrangements considering there are now two deities in this realm." Persephone responded choosing to ignore his subtle hints and remained relaxed in his seat. This made the fiery blue god exhale and continue to frown at her.

"Well, you don't have to worry about that because breaks over anyway." He responded pushing the sheets of scrolls towards her face.

"But I just— Oh. _Forget it!_" Persephone began to object before huffing loudly and snatching the scrolls, pushing herself off the seat and stalked off barefoot, not bothering to collect her shoes. "_Slave driver.._" She hissed as she left the throne room looking put out with the flames curling the ends of her blonde hair. There was a moment of silence before the loud slam of the distant office door could be heard.

"Should I be concerned?" Hades asked looking somewhat bemused, having not taken the vacant seat yet as he had been staring after her in surprise.

"Maybe. She has been running herself ragged these last few weeks.." Panic responded, his horned ears dipping, not wishing to be smote for telling the truth,

"Yeh. And she's been more moody than you lately." Pain added, still cringing at the last time he had been smote by the youthful goddess.

"_Hmm. _The strain must finally be getting to her. Memo to me: Do somethin' nice for her when I have the time." Hades mused rubbing his long chin thoughtfully, figuring he might have pushed her too hard and she was close to breaking point.

* * *

The blonde goddess slammed the paperwork onto the desk vehemently, her green eyes flashing with anger as she slumped into the black bony armchair snarling. She had only been in his stupid throne for less than thirty seconds! She had only wanted a short break from the monotonous room that she had been spending every living moment of every day for the last several weeks.

It was infuriating.

No! _He_ was infuriating!

She had had enough of this. If he wasn't going to allow her one simple break, then she would take it with or without his consent. Persephone scooped up the scrolls, intending to finish the paperwork on her terms, not his. She was a goddess in her own right. She had interned before and it had always been voluntary, she could take breaks when she liked. She was her mother's ward, not his. If he had a problem with her he could go whinge to her mother for all she cared. That's what the rest of them had done, wasn't it? Complain that her perfect little Persephone had an attitude problem? Her, the innocent little flower of Demeter, the apple of her mother's eye.. There were benefits to being the only daughter of the nicest goddess in the cosmos. It was very easy to let her see and believe only what she wanted to believe. If she wanted to see her daughter as some snivelling little waif with no backbone and a shy, retiring disposition why deny her of that vision? If she wanted to believe that her precious daughter was innocent and ignorant of the ways of men, why spoil it? What she didn't know didn't hurt her, right?

"Hey Seph, what's the happs babe, long time no see— _Oh_, you look tense. Bad day?" The moment the small Messenger God had swooped in through the round window of the office and clocked her expression he perched himself on the edge of the desk with a sympathetic look. He had known his best friend long enough to know when she was upset.

"Hmh. Just overworked. You wanna ditch and play hooky this afternoon?" Persephone batted her thick eyelashes sweetly at him though her angelic expression was just a mask she used to hide the sneaky little madam inside that he adored hanging out with.

"Oh-hoh, yeh! There's that bad girl I love so much. You know a good place to hide out where Flame Boy ain't gonna find us, right?" The short pale-blue skinned god asked looking as if he could do without a smiting for dragging her away from work.

"Chill out my winged accomplice I know the perfect place if you don't mind helping me out with a little ordinance surveying, of course." The white-skinned beauty narrowed her bright olive green eyes with a playful smirk.

"Heh, well colour me intrigued. Now you gotta show me this place.." The small blue god declared brightly, waving his cadelles to emphasise his point.

"Then grab a fresh blue scroll, some chalk and let's go!" Persephone grinned.

* * *

Upon entering the brightly lit realm of the Elysian Feilds Hermes blinked several times before pulling off his rose tinted glasses and cleaning the lenses with the edge of his white toga. They had dropped all the scrolls on the wide white stone table in the gazebo Persephone had claimed as her outdoor office space while in this realm. They had a clear panoramic view of the feilds around them, the white sandy beech, the eternal ocean with it's distant isles and the barrier to the dark side of the Underworld to their left where her tall pomegranate tree stood proud..

"Oh, wow.. This place makes the surface look dull." He added setting the glasses back on the bridge of his large nose before blinking and taking everything in.

"Good.. It's not just me that can see passed that illusion." The youthful blonde goddess smiled brightly. "It's like Surface Lite down here, most of the dead souls can't tell the difference."

"So this is the Elysian Feilds, huh? Kooky, y'know I've never been here before but Zeus says it's the home for heroes. Never thought you would dig such a hangout babe."

"This place is for the pure and _good_ souls, not just heroes." Persephone's scowled slightly in disapproval then added with snarky edge, "You know how I feel about _heroes_.." Her eyes narrowed in distaste before she blinked then added with a smirk. "Did I mention one of them tried to kidnap me from the Underworld a few weeks ago?"

"What? Get out.. You serious?" Hermes raised his brows in disbelief before he looked hopeful and grinned, "Please tell me you gave him the chair."

"Of course I did. Then Hades moved him to the dining room." Persephone narrowed her olive green eyes in a deadpan manner. "Something about wanting to gloat over the would-be hero being beaten by a flower goddess.." She exhaled heavily, unimpressed by his logic and purposely avoided the room now.

"Well it's not like the ol' Hot Head gets many dinner guests now, is it? Just let him have his fun.." The pale-blue god pulled off his golden cap revealing, his receding hairline, and began fanning himself with it. "So, you were saying somethin' about an ordinance survey?" He narrowed an eyebrow flashing her a smirk.

"Yes! Now if I remember right there are no blue scrolls to this realm so I thought if your afternoon was free we could map one out." Persephone said with a bright smile giving him her best puppy-eyed look.

"Ah, you know you don't need to twist this god's arm with manipulation tactics, I'm always down in your end'a town. Heh, besides works been kinda light since your mother insisted on hosting the Springtime Celebrations on Sicily.. She has Iris and Artemis doin' all the arrangements, if that ain't too nutty?" Hermes responded rolling his violet eyes that were hidden behind rose tinted specs.

"Really? Sicily? Why the change?" The blonde goddess blinked confused since they usually held these celebrations on Olympus.

"She wants to invite Hades so he doesn't feel left out and since it's also the day you return to the surface it doubles as a welcome home party for you too." His words made Persephone shake her head wearily.

"Oh great. It already sounds lame." She drawled unimpressed. "As long as they remember not everything needs to be vegan or vegetarian. A lot of gods, including my family, eat meat."

"Ahem sister." Hermes grinned widely as he pushed open the blue scroll open and held it open using some of the white chalky bits of rock from the ground. "So, where shall we start mappin'?" He asked keenly, picking up a piece of chalk grinning. He had always loved working on projects with her, it took him back to school with the two of them practically sharing every class..

"Well, first let's recruit a little help.." Persephone then began to sing a few scale notes and as she held the last one for an elongated time the fluttering of wings came with the harmonising notes of the three Sirens. They landed the moment the note was broken by all three girls bowed low, lifting the edges of their floaty skirts.

"We are pleased you returned.." Tele began respectfully as the girls dropped their skirts and straightened.

"We knew you would.." Raidne added brightly looking happy to have their self-proclaimed mistress back.

"And you brought Hermes.. How wonderful.." Molpe added clasping her tiny hands together and looking excited by the presence of the small god, beaming like a nymph with a school-girl crush. The other two Siren sisters seemed to be equally taken in by this new man in their dynamic.

"Well hello ladies.." The Messenger God nipped passed Persephone and gave all three Sirens a debonair grin complete with his best smouldering look. "It's great to meet you too.." His flirty attitude made the white-skinned goddess pout, grab him by his single strapped white toga and yank him back to her with one sharp fluid motion.

"Can your pansexual desires Fly Guy, they all took vows of chastity so that Aphrodite couldn't sway them into being her minions." She added between gritted teeth flashing him a warning look. Her best friend had always been a bit of a flirt and he loved anyone, no matter their gender or form and she had nursed enough broken nymph hearts to know that he was a no-strings kind of lover.. Not that he ever _told_ his partners this information.

"So keep it strictly P-G, got it! Re-_lax_ babe.. It's totally copacetic.." He looked unphased, giving her a cheeky wink and pulled himself out grip and wrapped an arm around the youngest two Sirens and walked away with them leaving Persephone frowning in irritation. Trust him to be side-tracked by three pretty faces that giggled girlishly at his fabulously godly self.

This was going to be a _looong_ afternoon...

"Lady Praxidyke..." The sound of this aging corporeal dead soul's voice grated the young looking goddess further, making her frown, not bothering to look at this new-comer as she curled her fists tightly at her sides. "Is this all there is? Is there no chance at new life? I want to live again, to feel the air on my face, sun on my skin—" He broke off into a cry of shock when Persephone unfurled the fist nearest him and flicked it casually with a heavy sigh, making him vanish into a swirl of orbs.

"This is _sohh _not the time.." She uttered rubbing her temples before finding the Sirens and Hermes staring at her open mouthed in shock. "What?" The blonde goddess asked tersely.

"Hey, far from me to question your totally eternal teen attitude Seph _buuut_, where did you send him?" Hermes asked after exchanging a quick glance with the equally confused Sirens.

"_Urh_, who cares? He'll be back.. Can we _please_ get started." Persephone frowned in annoyance before the far-off sound of a high-pitched alarm made her head turn towards the dark realm of Hades. "Second thoughts, _you_ guys start mappin' these feilds and I will go see what's going on over there.." She then vanished out in a swirl or orbs but a moment later her disembodied voice floated over the threesome, "And I want some _actual_ work done by the time I get back or there will be Tartarus to pay!" Then her presence was gone and she seemed completely unaware of her own actions and what they meant..

* * *

"_Persephone!_" Hades sing-singed brightly, opening the door to the office entering with his eyes shut and continuing in a giddy gushing tone, hoping to woo her over with words. "My little bird, my little flower, my sweet _little_ sun-_spot_.. I realise now that I've been a _little_ unfair in denying you a break earlier so I have come with a new _offer.._" He grinned widely opening his eyes only to find his office empty. "What the—?" He looked around in disbelief before blinking when a swirl of orbs appeared above his out-tray and a stack of scrolls rained into it out of the vanishing orbs. Scooping up the top scroll Hades unfurled it to find it was a completed order form for the studded lashes he had given her in the throne room earlier.

"Uh-huh... Well, yeh, ok.. Can't really complain that she's not here when she's still doin' the work.." He muttered to himself as he rolled the scroll back up with a careless shrug before the sound of a shrill alarm filled not just his ears but his whole being. "_Alright_, whatta you little putzs done now!-!" Scowling deep at the sudden, unwanted interruption Hades snarled and dropped the scroll onto his desk then stalked out of the office to track down his imps..

Someone was in deep, deep _trouble.._

* * *

"Didja getit?" Pain's head had twisted back double checking that neither Hades or Persephone were around to witness Panic's return from the surface realm. Certain that they were completely alone in the huge throne room he turned back to his twin. They had wanted to get this sooner but work had been crazy busy and their breaks had been limited to just doing essentials and returning to the grindstone. Now that things were finally slowing down they could get back to their plan to hook their boss up with Persephone in the hopes of keeping her around. The magenta imp with the flop of burgundy hair had been covering for his stick thin teal partner all morning while he went top-side to collect what it was he wanted for their plan to get the the two immortal deities together. This wasn't exactly challenging as buisness had been slowing down as they were fast approaching Spring which also meant Persephone would likely be going home soon.

"Affirmative.." Panic grinned pulling out two bright pink arrows with white feathery tails and heart shaped arrow heads.

"Hello my _lovelies.._" Pain smirked deviously at the two arrows rubbing his little clawed hands together, his scheming mind already formulating a plan on how to use them.

"We need to hide these from the boss, if he finds out we have these he will flame us for sure.." The teal skinned imp said trembling a little as he held the love arrows, looking around anxiously as if their flame-haired boss was about to discover them any second.

"Aw, that's no problem!" The chubby rose-pink imp exclaimed cheerfully, grabbing the arrows. "We'll put them in the one place he never looks." He then rammed them down the back of the grey drapes behind Hades' throne with a grin.

"You really think he won't look there?" Panic kinked a brow in disbelief before a cluster of swirling orbs appeared out of nowhere making him suddenly turn his head and frown at the ghostly circles of light. "What in the name of Nyx is that?"

"He didn't find our _entertainment.. _What's what?" Pain looked back completely missing the orbs as they had shot upwards through the round circular skylight in the roof but he did see the soul counter click backwards with a small click. The next second the room was filled with a high-pitched alarm that filled every part of their small beings.

"_What happened!_" Panic yelled over the din both hands clutching his horn-like ears and yanking them down to try drown out the volume.

"_I dunno! The stupid counter is busted!_" Pain snarled back, trying to raise his voice over the intensely loud alarm as two fingers stuck themselves in his ears.

"_Pain!-! ...Panic!-!_" The sound of Hades' disembodied bellowing seemed to successfully cut through the continuing high-pitched alarm. The next second the red skinned god with blistering orange and yellow flames appeared in the throne room glaring at them, clearly thinking that they were responsible for the alarm still going off around them. "_Who set off the alarm?-!_"

"_It went off by itself!_" Panic yelled up, looked up terrified as he continued to try to blot out the noise and make himself look pathetic at the same time. No mean feat.

"_Yeh, that counter's to blame, a number clicked back by itself for no reason!_" Pain added loudly as he stepped down, removing one hand away from his small horn-like ear to point at the counter above the door leading to the Vortex of Phlegethon which was glowing green beyond the cavernous doorway.

"_WHAT?-!_" Hades snarled out though his temper combustion was lessened my the high-pitched alarm still going off around them. "_The counter does NOT flip back by itself and WHO has the code for this alarm!-!_"

"_Ah! I think it's still your mother's maiden name!_" Panic chipped in with a nervous grin, still clutching his ears.

"_THEN SHUT THIS THING OFF!-! NOW!-!_" Hades roared over the alarm actually sending torrents of fire out in all directions.

"_What's going on in here?_" Came the sound of Persephone's voice as the youthful blonde goddess appeared moments after the blast with her hands over her own small pixie-like ears and she screwed up her face at the level of noise. Both imps had darted off at their master's command to go shut off the alarm. Within moments of doing so the alarm silenced leaving nothing but a high tinnitus-like ringing in the ears of those standing in the throne room.

"Oy vey, I think I've a migraine now.." Hades exhaled as his shoulders sagged and he twisted a finger in one ear to try and rid himself of the ringing before turning his attention to the counter hanging on the wall. He frowned deeply at the long panel for a long moment. "Well, it doesn't look busted, that's for sure..."

"So, why did the alarm go off?" Persephone flipped her incredibly long blonde hair then jutted her hip out to the left and leant a hand on it.

"The alarm only goes off when a soul leaves the Underworld.. Although, I can't figure out for the life of me how one left." The blue fiery god uttered vaguely as he tapped one of the numbers with his long, bony index finger.

"S-souls can leave?" Persephone blinked in shock.

"_No! _They can't." Hades hissed our velemetly with a breif frown before his gaze focused in the imps as they returned into his field of vision. "You two. What did you do?" He threw them a suspicious look since they had been in the throne room when the alarm went off so to him they were to blame.

"It wasn't us!" Pain scowled looking affronted.

"Yeh! There was a swirl of orbs in here right before the alarm went off!" Panic retorted before jabbing a finger at Persephone. "Maybe it was Miss Flowers and Orbs over there!"

"_Hey!_" Persephone's snapped with a glare both hands moving to her hips now as she pouted.

"Pul-_lease_.. She _just_ proved she didn't know it was possible for a soul to leave. Now my rep is on the line so let's find out who the soul was and _get them back here!_" The blue flamed Lord of the Dead snarled making both imps jump and dash off down the halls to the vault of records in an adjoining room to Hades' office.

"Your rep is on the line?" Persephone repeated with a questioning kink of the brow and a slight smirk.

"Hey, if I let one soul get out, my rep as a cruel dictator is shot. 'Hades, he's losin' it, forget about him', souls flee back up to the land of the livin', minions start gettin' uppity. Total chaos—"

"I think your exaggerating somewhat, don't you." Persephone responded in some amusement.

"Excuse me?" Hades lanced her with a firm look of doubt.

"I don't see a big rush of souls fleeing for the exit." The blonde goddess added with a mock gesture as if stating the obvious.

"Well they won't get the chance." The blue flamed god frowned as he stated darkly before smirking back at her. "Don't you have filing to get on with?"

"_Hmf. _Yes, your flaming bossiness." She stuck her tongue out to him in immature fashion and vanished out in a swirl of bright white orbs to go and file the scrolls away that were waiting in the out-try.

"With less sass, thank _you._" He called out after her complete with an A-ok sign and a wide grin. She really had been trying to test his legendary patience as of late.. He would have to use his best charm offensive to win her back. It was at this point his large round golden eyes noticed the pair of small black heels still laying across the steps in front of his throne.

* * *

It was was late in the evening when Persephone finally finished filing away the last of the scrolls of the day using Hades' complex alphabetical then numerical order system. The youthful goddess exhaled as she floated down from her levitated position from the floor, a trick Hades had taught her in the last few weeks to help her reach the high shelves in his absence. A feeling of relief came over her as her small but warm bare feet touched the cold tiles of the stone floor. Ignoring the two imps, who were still riffling through the soul index trying to figure out who was missing from the endless roster of souls, she moved to the huge desk and flopped into the black bony swivel seat. Hermes had taken the blue scroll of the Elysian Feilds with him with the intent of creating a copy for the Hall of Records with the help of it's curator Tri-Via and would return the original copy once they were finished.

"Well, looks like you finally finished your work, a little later than I would like but, hey, you finished it, right? That's what matters.." The sound of a familiar drawling voice spoke making Persephone's green eyes frown up at the Lord of the Dead who was standing on the other side of the desk with a grin. Apparently he had been watching her complete her workload, invisible no doubt. How long he had been there she couldn't say but the fact he was there was annoying enough.

"Spying on me now?" She spoke tersely rubbing her forehead, not in the mood for whatever this was.

"I believe the word your lookin' for is _supervising_, babe." The blue flamed god smirked leaning one hand on the desk as he leered at her.

"The word I'm looking for, I can't say because there are minions present." Persephone flicked a wrist irritably in Pain and Panic's and they both flashed each other a nervous glance before pushing their current scroll further up to shield them from view. "But before you ask.. Here's your _damn seat!_" She disappeared out of the bony black swivel seat making it spin then reappeared at the door. "And since my shift is over with I don't need to stay here with you so.. _Ciao._" She mock-saluted with a clearly false girly smile before turning around and leaving, shutting the door sharply behind her.

The slight tremor from the door was enough to make Hades' flaming hair flicker and he exhaled heavily, before sneaking a glance in the direction of the imps who quickly pulled their noses back a around the scroll they had been peeked from. He scowled deeply at them making a mental note to smite them later before he quickly high-tailed after Persephone.

"Whoa! Hoh! Persephone! Seph.. Wait up! Let's talk, a little schmooze—" He was cut off from his words when Persephone rounded on him with a deep scowl, forcing him to stop dead in his tracks.

"If you want me to do overtime, the answer is no!" She responded sharply about to continue on when his large bony hands caught her by the shoulder forcing her to stay. He was bigger and more powerful than she was, if she tried orbing away he could just summon her back.

"Ah-hah! _No!_ Not what I wanted. I _uh_, heh.. well, I wanted to apologise about the whole seat thing earlier.." He was flashing her a twisted sheepish grin which made her eye him suspiciously.

"Go on.." Persephone said casually moving her shoulder in a circular motion to jolt his grip off of her and then folded her arms across her ample bosom with an expected look on her pretty face.

"Shall we take this to—"

"No." The youthful goddess cut him off sharply once more making him raise both hands in some defeat.

"Fine. Ok.. Here's good.." Hades couldn't help but rub one bicep with the hand of the opposite arm and look completely awkward, wracking his usually quick-witted mind for anything that would break the somber tension at this moment. He cursed his lack of any real social skills, he was not well-versed enough on interacting with other gods, unless you counted scheming, manipulating and out-an-out back-stabbing them of course..

"You've never apologised for anything before, have you?" Persephone cocked her head to one side in some disbelief. Despite the fact that she was still somewhat mad at him for spying and cutting her break short earlier she couldn't help but still be impressed by this new fact.

"Not with any _real_ sincerity.. No." Hades shook his head, cringing inwardly at admitting this out loud knowing that this made him sound like an awful being. For the first time his mind seemed to consider the fact that he might actually deserve banishment from Olympus.

Hmh. Your forgiven.." Persephone's look softened in that moment, able to see that he gueniunely was sorry without him actually having to voice it.

"Seriously? Just like that.." The fiery god kinked a brow somewhat unconvinced that he wasn't off the hook that easy. The two gods had started walking absent-mindedly down the corridor together as they continued to converse.

"Heh.. Hardly. I can take breaks when I want.." Persephone smirked keeping pace easily with the much taller god next to her as his pace was slow and ambling which, considering her much shorter legs, was a comfortable walking pace to her.

"Ya do that anyway! You think I don't know about your li'l rendezvous with Twinkle-Toes earlier? C'mon, if it bothered me that much I woulda just summoned you then ordered you back to work, wouldn't I?" The Lord of the Dead smirked back making her jaw slacken a little in surprise. He had seen Hermes swoop in and slip into the office window while down on the black jetty of the docks. He didn't know what the two of them had been doing all day but the work got done, that was all he cared about..

"More spying, why am I not surprised.." Persephone replied rolling her eyes before blinking when the last part of his sentence hit home. "Wait, you don't care how many breaks I take?"

"_Pfft.. Nah! _You work harder than any minion I got.. Besides your right about the seating arrangements if you ever wanted to come onboard in a more permanent capacity it's something I promise to look into." The fiery god flashed the most genuine smile he could muster.

"Are you offering me a job." Persephone quirked both brows looking somewhat surprised.

"Hey, I got plenty of openings for a vigorous got-getter like yourself. And if you do consider the change in domain I can offer you the best benefits package you can get.. Though I wouldn't blame ya if ya wanted to remain topside. Who in the right mind would give that up for _this.._" He rolled his round yellow eyes somewhat wearily as he gestured around his dark gloomy abode knowing that it didn't hold a candle to the surface world.

"_Hmh_. Nobody's ever offered me a job before, normally they're off whining to my mother because of my 'attitude problem'. She gets offended and hauls me home, there's a reason I don't last more than six months in a job." Persephone giggled slightly finding the whole situation amusing.

"I'll be the first to admit that you gotta fiery streak babe... reminds me of... well, _me._" The Lord of the Dead grinned as the two of approached the kitchen of his surprisingly enormous subterranean home.

"Your _not_ the first one to say that." Persephone pouted used to being compared to him and it usually was meant as an insult.

"I meant it as a compliment. You an' me, we gotta good back and forth goin'. And I gotta be honest, this job has been slightly more bearable since you stuck around to help out." Hades continued to smirk as Persephone still seemed somewhat blown away by the offer of a job. He wanted her to stay on a more permanent basis? Was he serious? It seemed so unreal..

"Hello... Seph, you in there babe?" Her olive green eyes blinked several times finding his large pale blue bony fingers trying to rouse her back into focus. "Tell, ya what. You take Spring and Summer to think about it and get back to me in the Fall, deal?" He was offering her his hand again but the white-skinned goddess pushed it aside thinking that this might be an automatic reaction to a conversation of this nature. He must just be used to it from all his deal-making over the millenniums of ruling the dead, he certainly didn't seem offended by her not shaking in agreement.

"Sure. I'll think about it.." Persephone nodded perching herself at the island nook with the granite worktop as the blue fiery god began searching his store cupboards with the intentions of fixing them a late night supper option..

* * *

"_Oh!_ Face it Pain, we're not gonna find this bozo! We don't even know where to start looking for this missing soul! _If_ it even was a missing soul in the first place.." The skinny teal imp burst out with the moment both their boss and Persephone were gone. Panic then jumped down from the table and he paced back and forth on the stone floor of the Vault of Records looking freaked out. "He's gonna flame us when he finds out we failed to locate the soul!"

"You mean _IF_ he finds out.." Pain interjected with a sneaky look.

"Of course he's gonna find out— _If.._." Those huge bug eyes glazed over at the possibility of not getting caught before his sleep deprived paranoia made him shake his head and round on his devious looking brother. "Is it me, or do _all_ your plans involve some horrible web of lies that always come back to bite us?"

"It's you.. Lack of sleep has got you tweaked.." The chubby pink imp said as he casually hopped off the table they had been using.

"I'm not _tweaked! _What makes you so sure Hades won't find out?" Panic grabbed his chubby partner by the face and examined him suspiciously.

"Cause _if_ the soul comes back we'll just reprocess him before Hades finds out.." Pain added pulling his skinny teal brother off of him with a casual smirk. "What he doesn't know isn't gonna hurt us, _besides_ we have more important things to worry about." He then gestured his brother to go with him as he went to the door. "Now act cool and follow my lead.."

Panic rolled his eyes and shook his head in disbelief following his slightly younger twin brother and partner, more out of idle curiosity than any actual faith that this would work... They really were doing this again, weren't they?

**_Little Notes:_**

**_Hey guys, this chapter is slightly longer and was actually pretty fun to write because of all the playful banter and jokes. A few subtle adult jokes thrown in just to pepper the fun too. And for those of you thinking that the kiss has been forgotten about, it has not! It's just that I consider winter to always be the busiest time of year in the Underworld when the hours are gruelling and the days are long. Our leads and minions have just been far to busy over the few weeks to really focus on anything other than work and bickering, hence the time jump too. _**

**_Ok, big reveal about Hermes' sexuality in this chapter. He's not gay. Personally, I've never considered Hermes gay in the movie or the series. To me he has always come off as pansexual, though there wasn't really a word for it at the time. It's common for a lot of writers to write him as gay as his voice actor is but I've never seen him showing a particular preference to gender or species and to me it fits him perfectly. Besides he was way too comfortable playing faux-girlfriend for Phil in the Bacchanal episode.. If you need any proof I recommend you watch it.. In this story Narcissus is the gay best friend who embodies many of the troupes, even if he is just gay for himself.._**

**_Oh. And for those interested, this chapter means the word count for this story is higher than the original P.o.P_**

**Anyway, Stay tuned for more soon!**

**A~Teal**


	21. Consequences To Those Actions

**Plight of Persephone**

_Ok people, you know the score, I do not own Hercules, Disney does and even though they do not have plans for— What? They do! DAMMIT! Son of a Titan—! I knew it! I KNEW they would do a god damn live action remake! ***Agent of Teal facepalms wearily*** I hope none of the executives got the idea from reading this story, now that would be awkward ...I'm sorry, back too the disclaimer.. Don't worry, you do not need to have read any of my other stories to read this one and the original is NOT going anywhere, it stays here where it belongs.. I do own this version of Persephone and all other original characters and places that come up, permission and advice is always given to those who want to use them but do tell me if you use my characters so I may view and comment on your work.. Just like the original I will be basing this story around Greek myths and twisting them around just like Disney did, I will also be reworking some of_ _the original plot lines.. Please review and let me know your thoughts.. Thank you for your time. Enjoy! _

* * *

**Reviews:**

**Sharkeygirl: I always find times when Hades is trying to put feelings into words and not quite having the full capacity to manage it very sweet. You have to love him for trying but he's just so socially awkward that he ends up making his own life so difficult. He has many issues on many levels.. that's why it's taking so long for them to hook up. It's him, not so much her..**

**Angel of Hunkydoriness: Haha, yeh.. When she's stressed you really start to see how like Hades Persephone really is and how rebellious she can be. There's a bit more into her past internships in this chapter but you can now begin to see why she hasn't held down a job.. Like Hades she's partly to blame for her own predicament..**

* * *

_Dedicated to Sharkeygirl~ my biggest reviewer who's thoughts and comments keeps me inspired to write.. And also to the 70 of you who are now alerted to when I update.. For you, I bring this a little early.. (I posted this at 11pm Monday GMT)_

_Although reviews aren't necessary, it's always nice to hear from you guys (especially now in these times) and every review pushes you guys closer to getting the little one-shot stories.. Thank you everyone for making these stories happen.._

* * *

**_Chapter Twenty-One: The _****_Consequences To Those Actions_**

Minthe had had enough. She was done.

Kaput.

Out.

Gone.

Bye-bye.

It had become clear to her that Hecate wasn't interested in helping her win over Hades, she just wanted a clear shot at his Underworld throne. The green haired nymph had left the immortal witch's gloomy grotto when her and her winged wolves had left for their nightly hunt, whatever that involved. She didn't mind making the Lord of the Dead out to be a kidnapper as that was believable but a rapist too? That was the last straw! The fiery god was a lot of things but the naiad knew he would never force himself upon anyone. He wasn't like that!

Coming to the conclusion that if she wanted Hades for herself she would just have to find another way to get him. Persephone would be leaving in a few weeks for Spring anyway and she wouldn't be back. She never kept a job for longer than six months. She was too wilful and ever changing, she wasn't to be pinned down to a single realm with a single job. Not her style! Persephone would grow bored and restless with the same old drudgery day in and day out. There was a reason her and Hermes were besties, they were thick as, well, _thieves_ when they got together. 'Coo-coo nutty hijinx' they called it.. _trouble_ more like! Always goading each other on, or being egged on by Narcissus, Ares, Bacchus and whoever else wanted in on their stupid pranks, stirring the pot to see which deity they could wind up next.. Zeus had fired Persephone himself when she had interned with Hermes, forbidding her from interning on his cloud again. Their 'hoodlum antics' being the reason he had dropped a quiver of thunderbolts on Pompeii causing it to be wiped off the map.

Minthe just couldn't see Persephone settled in any realm with a husband, it just seemed so unlike her. The girl was just clueless when it came to love, she had only ever had a couple of innocent kisses and never seemed to really notice when she was being hit on by anyone, man or god. She was still a virgin goddess for Gaia's sake! At her age and not invested in the Vestal Virgin programme that was just.. _sad.. _The nymph believed that Hades deserved better than some naive eternal teenage looking maiden who had no experience in the bedroom. They would look so odd together since he looked much older and way more mature. Everyone would think he was a sugar daddy or possibly a creepy old pervert.. Minthe looked older in the face and felt as if that made her more aesthetically pleasing to the eye when standing next to him. At least they would look like a regular couple, like they were supposed to be married and not either robbing the cradle or grave..

It was late when she appeared back on the large ox-bow island that Hades kept his imposing skull shaped home on, wiping the dirt off the long petal-like skirt of her white dress. Hecate really needed to invest in a feather duster and spring clean once in a while. The sound of voices hit the pale green skinned nymph's ears making her swivel her head to see the familiar shadows of Pain and Panic approaching. Quickly she transformed into her plant-form hoping that she would be small and inconspicuous enough that they wouldn't notice her. She was certain that if they saw her flitting about in her nymph form they would goad her for 'stalking' their boss then take great pleasure in alerting Hades to her presence like she was some unwanted pest.

She had always _hated_ those god-blockers!

"—I can't believe he bought it." Panic was saying impressed by his chubbier rose-pink partner as he walked beside the imp with a flop of burgundy coloured hair who nodded with a wide grin.

"See. I told you it would be easy. It's not like he's checkin' the books since he's got Persephone doin' them." Pain replied with a smirk.

"What makes you think she won't squeal to him?" The skinny teal asked unsurely.

"_Pfft.. _She's not gonna do that. That would involve admitting that she's the reason the soul left in the first place." The rose-pink imp replied with a grin and Panic gave a start.

"Wait, how did you figure out it was her?" This in turn made Pain blink.

"I thought you knew. You called her out." He jabbed a small stubby clawed finger at his brother.

"I was just venting!" The teal imp rolled his eyes as he stuck both hands out in a sullen yet exasperated manner.

"Oh. Well when you said about ghostly orbs I figured it had to be her. Her powers are all about new life after all.. maybe she gave him a new lease of life." Pain explained his reasoning.

"Makes sense and that probably means by the time he gets back here the boss won't remember who he is.." Panic replied feeling the stress of hiding the truth lift instantly.

"Exactly, it's win-win.." Pain continued before his eyes fell on the small sprig that was Minthe hiding in plain sight. "Man, Persephone's plants are breeding like weeds. They're _everywhere.._"

"_Urgh.. _Just leave it.. If you pick it two more will grow in its place." Panic snagged his brother's hand before Pain could pull it out the ground. "C'mon, we can't be late for dinner with the clan, you know how mom gets and you still haven't told me your plan for the love arrows.." He let go of his slightly older twin and the two imps continued onwards down the path that lead to the distant gates of Tartarus near the Nether Regions on the east side of the Underworld.

"The ones behind Hades' throne?" The rose-pink chubby imp asked then cried out in pain as his toe stubbed a loose bit of jagged rock on the ground.

"No, the other ones.." Panic responded in a deadpan tone before it washed into an irritated glare and his hands flailed exaggeratedly. "Yes, of course those ones!"

"Chill out Panic, your getting worked up over nothing. You really need to catch up on some sleep.. I'll fill you in over dinner, I hope mom's made plenty, I am _one_ hungry Misery.." He added as they rounded the corner to the docks, planning on waiting for Charon who usually passed at this time.

"Between you, dad and Gluttony I wouldn't be so worried, feels like ages since we've been home. Oh, and speaking of dad we better dirty up for dinner, you know how he feels about that.." The teal imp added, their conversation starting to fade as they continued on..

"As long as we remember to clean up on the way back, Hades hates us being dirty.."

"Gods are so weird... The things we do to keep him happy.."

At the sound of their fading laughter died away and Minthe finally transformed back into her nymph form, smirking deviously. Thanks to those two idiots she now had a new idea on how to get Hades to be hers and they had done most of the hard work. All she had to do was get the Love Arrows and Hades alone. She smiled brightly at the idea and disappeared into a small burst of leaves..

...Minthe appeared in the empty throne room. Since things had been quieter the the Lord of the Dead and his soon-to-be-gone little intern had turned in for some much needed sleep. Positive that nobody would be interrupting her any time soon the little dryad headed immediately up to the huge stone throne, reaching behind the grey veil and felt feathers. With delight she pulled them out.

"Yes, pay dirt!" The green haired nymph flicked her high ponytail as she straightened with the two pink arrows in her hand and a wide smirk. "He shall be _mine_." She giggled brightly before vanishing out on the spot..

* * *

When Hecate and her two large wolf minions returned to the dimly lit grotto after their night time hunt they found the green-haired little dryiad gone. While the two large wolfs sniffed around trying to figure out where Minthe had gone the soft-violet skinned immortal witch with deep blue hair relaxed on her throne unconcerned.

"Forget the nymph. Good riddance, too-dah-loo. So long, we don't need her.." Hecate drawled flashing her winged pets a dark scowl to which the brothers cow-toed to immediately.

"But Hecate, aren't you worried she will tell Persephone what your up to?" Canis spoke up looking concerned.

"Yeh, what about your plans to get the god squad to haul her out of here? Do we still press ahead with the plan to up the anti?" Lupus added cocking his head curiously.

"Let's hold off from that just now. She's just a jealous little nymph. We obviously offended Minthe last night.." The immortal witch pulled a look of mock-hurt making her wolf minions chuckle.

"Nymphs are surprisingly sensitive.."

"Whatta you expect with Demeter in charge of them.."

"Here's what we'll do.." Hecate pulled herself over to hers scrying bowl that sat on her alter table and with a wave of her hand which glowed with her magic it swivelled to reveal the small nymph in the throne room. "We'll keep an eye on our little forest friend and when she makes her move.. So do _we..._" Her silvery green eyes narrowed as she watched the small nymph girl stretch behind Hades' throne and pull out two Love Arrows with a look of delight, giggle silently then vanish from sight.

"What about the rumours circling the dead right now? Won't that complicate things?" Lupus spoke up still looking unsure about her plan to take the throne from Hades.

"What rumours?" Hecate kinked a neat angular brow with a slight frown making both wolf brothers look at each other in some confusion.

"You know, the ones about the Elysian Fields having a new ruler.." Canis added twirling a paw then adding tentatively as both winged-wolves started to tremble nervously. "T-they're calling her.. Praxidyke, Bringer of Light and t-t-true Lady of the Dead."

Matching simpering, jagged grins appeared as both wolves dropped their ears, curled their tails submissively as Hecate's usual pale violet face deepened to a more angry puce and she shook like some long dormant volcano about to detonate with rage and fury...

"_WHAT?-!_"

* * *

The sound of cheerful humming could be heard inside the Lord of the Dead's huge master suite as the god was getting ready for a new day. He had woken in a very good mood. He wasn't sure if he was still in an insomniatic trance due to working around the clock for the passed few weeks, catching only a sparse few power naps when he could or maybe it had something to do with witnessing Persephone's transformation into a jaded little fire-cracker with a talent for sass-talk and terrifying the imps. There was just something about watching her temper soar while their yellow eyes bulged and their tiny hearts beat wildly out of their rib-cages that sent his flaming head and heart into a tizzy.

There was something so alluring about watching her fly into a shrieking banshee of fire and the creative insults she came up with? Oh, how he _loved_ what came out of her mouth! He could listen to her insult those little yutzes from dawn until dusk. Calling them 'piles of fungi festering plant fertiliser' was now a _personal_ favourite and something he wanted to commit to long-term memory. Even now as he combed sulphur into his flames with his black bone comb making them more buoyant and tinge a red hue, the smirk was stretching his blue lips and a barely restrained low chuckle sat in his throat just wanting to burst forth.

He coulda kissed her that day!

_Oh Fates_, they only knew how much he had wanted to. It had taken all his restraint not to just grab her and smooch those plump, petal soft lips. He was pretty sure she would of ripped his head off if he tried but he had always been a god with a masochistic kink, pain could be quite pleasurable when proper precautions were present. Still, he wouldn't force her into anything she wasn't ready for and he wanted both her heart and trust before he would have her screaming at the top of her voice in his bedchamber. He wondered vaguely how she felt about being tied up then shook his head roughly to perish the thought.. _One step at a time._

First objective: Ask her out.

Not _just_ for dinner. Not _just_ for a quick fling either. He wanted her to be his _girlfriend!_

The fiery god actually paused as the flames on his head shrunk and dimmed back to blue. Gods he was nervous about doing this. Hades had never had a girlfriend before. He'd never _wanted_ one until now. But he wanted to be with her, like _all_ the time. He felt like a better god when he was with her, he was pretty sure he wasn't a better god. He was still a cruel dictator that still struck terror, respect and awe in his minions eyes. He gave zero flames about the souls in his care beyond their numerical value once they were through processing. And he would still love to smash the face of every pretty-boy hero wannabe that _dared_ barrel into his realm like they owned the joint, i.e Jerkules but Persephone didn't seem to care about all that. She hated heroes as much as he did! Maybe they could even be like a regular couple, well as regular as they could be anyway. Go on dates, share in each other's interests, Tartarus, maybe they could even get married down the line when he felt secure enough in them to commit to it. He wouldn't do it just cause Zeus commanded it, he was a risk taker sure but he wasn't an idiot. Still, he wanted nothing more than to be able to rub it in the faces of the entire god squad that he had nabbed one of the hottest babes in the cosmos who was never gonna look older than sixteen.. Hades casually moved onto brushing his slightly discoloured fangs with the charcoal toothpaste he used then flossed still feeling good about this. To see the look on Posideon's face would be better than any scheme in the cosmos. He even knew exactly how he would goad him too!

_'Hey Po-Po, guess what? You were pinin' after Demeter for centuries to no avail now look who's bangin' __her daughter, hah!'_

Of course he would only say that once Persephone was out of earshot. This was the kind of thing gods did once the goddesses were out of sight, puff themselves out, bring out the bravado of testosterone and scrutinise each other like a piece of meat. Due to not having ever had a girlfriend before he was often on the receiving end of their immature jokes and jeers but that would change if Persephone agreed to be his girl.. They would stop claiming no girl would touch him or that he couldn't seduce one if he tried..

The piece of floss in between his long bony fingers disintegrated as he flared in slight annoyance. Those mush-headed idiots upstairs didn't realise there was a difference between not wanting a girlfriend and not being able to get one. Scanning the products of his own grooming kit he continued to hum in an attempt to drown out the irritation and it worked. His smirk returned as he scooped up his favourite aftershave, Old Spite and poured some out immediately slapping it on. Instantly his blue flames billowed as the familiar spicy woody smell surrounded his nostrils. This was the aftershave he saved for special occasions, too good to waste on meaningless flings and one time things... But Persephone... He was hoping the deep musky scent of this would subtly seduce her.

Checking his reflection in his dark bathroom mirror it grinned back at him with his best smouldering look. He then pulled back still grinning as he straightened his skull pin then headed out to get his morning coffee and see what breakfast options were on offer. Then he would lay down the agenda today in the mandatory staff meeting.. Where Persephone should be heading for now, assuming she was_ on time_ for once...

* * *

Unbeknown to the Lord of the Dead who was just leaving his large bedroom suite Persephone was already up and in his office. She had gotten so used to the early shifts by now that her body clock had adjusted to the change and she had found herself just going with the flow. The youthful looking white skinned beauty had already ground the coffee beans, left the coffee pot on a simmer along with bread and an assortment of condiments and fruit for when Hades eventually rose for his morning shift. There had only been a few sparse soul scrolls from the graveyard shift which she had quickly taken care of. It wasn't really that difficult to sort out the recommendations on the quality of afterlife. Hades had a points based system that was pretty easy to follow once you had the corresponding life script from the judge presiding the hearing. That of course was only part of the final decision the other came from the judges themselves. From what Persephone understood from Hades was at the end of the lifetime interview the judge presiding the case would ask the deadfendant what kind of afterlife they expected. The judes of doom, of course, being well-versed enough to spot a lie would send them to Tartarus just for trying. Though these instances were rare due to the deadfendants having to take an oath by the Styx to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so Hades help them. Persephone had never met the Judges of the Dead but they sounded like interesting guys..

When she had first arrived the blonde goddess had not understood how Hades could run the Underworld so efficiently by himself, that in itself had been a pretty impressive feat. But now that she had spent almost six months in his world, learning about both the Underworld and how to survive in it she only found herself admiring him more. He really was the smartest god she had even interned under. The Lord of the Dead practically had the whole place running itself. When he was behind his work desk he was giving her signatures, his permission to go ahead with orders, teaching her about new procedures: the latest lessons were about his Faustian deals and understanding the inner workings of his contracts. When the fiery god wasn't in the office he let her sit in and scribe the minutes in performance management meetings with minions where she had finally got to meet some of the resident Underworld community, his boardroom power meetings that were based on statistics and algorithms intended to project where his business stock portfolio was and how to manage investments. When he was out in the Underworld the fiery god was breathing fire and smoke down the necks of his underlings. He used fear, intimidation and occasionally manipulating 'schmooze talk' to ensure that his underlings did their jobs and if they failed he made an example out of them in the most brutal fashion he could think of in that moment.

Persephone couldn't deny that he was a tough boss but he sure knew how to run an efficient buisness. There was so much more he could teach her if she accepted his job offer... and she was sorely tempted by it.

Once she had finished tidying up the office space, ready to start the influx of paperwork the imps were sure to send her way the small goddess picked up her cup of now luke-warm nectar and half-eaten pomegranate slices and made her way to the morning staff meeting in the boardroom next door. Upon arriving to the huge room that was almost taken up by the long empty table Persephone sighed heavily looking glum as she set her plate and cup down.

_Great. First one here. How depressing.._

She rolled her green eyes then settled herself in one of the two black high-backed seats and drummed her fingers on the grey stone table top making a clicking noise due to her long narrow-pointed purple nails. She then gazed around the room from the empty easel to the stone faces of Pain and Panic carved into two the opposing walls from the window and door. Like all Hades' stone work carvings the faces were beautifully carved with intricate, realistic detailing, the faces a picture of terror and agony. These were obviously meant to permanently motivate the imps into doing a good job lest they wanted these expressions to be on they're faces again. Deciding to finish of her breakfast while she had the peace to Persephone took a sip of her nectar and began chewing on her fresh plucked pomegranate. After finishing this and clearing up nobody had arrived so she summoned a nail file out of a swirl of orbs and began buffing her nails unaware of the talk circling around her..

_Where is everyone?_

* * *

"Dead tongues are wagging with rumours about a new goddess in town.." Charon's gravelly hoarse voice sounded as he pulled into the black wood and stone jetty with a couple of morning straggler souls. The skeletal boatman jammed his long spindly oar into the muddy banks of the Styx as Pain and Panic scribbled notes on their clipboard.

"_Pfft_, you mean Persephone?" Pain blinked once he was finished scribbling his notes and passed a number to the soul he was dealing with.

"_Hah! _That's old news... just ignore it." Panic added passing a second number slip to his soul then pointed towards the line for Doom Service. "Just wait in line over there one of the three judges will deal with you shortly."

"Don't forget to get your life story straight.." Pain added with a smirk waving them off casually.

"_These_ rumours about an Underworld goddess." Charon shook his skull shaped head, his empty eye sockets moving in a manner that suggested he would roll his eyes if they could be seen.

"An Underworld goddess? Who?" Panic repeated kinking his brows in some disbelief as his attention returned to the skeletal boatman.

"Hecate? Is she scheming again.." Pain added looking concerned.

"What? I don't know, you know I don't get involved with politics.." Charon's bony brow scowled deeply. "The dead are talking about a goddess called _Praxidyke.._" His brow softened as if expecting this to ring some sort of bell. After a few moments he realised he might've been expecting too much as the pair looked as gormless as ever.

"Who?" Both imps intoned together with complete bemusement and this drew a heavy annoyed sigh from the nihilistic boatman. Why his blue-flamed boss kept these two employed was anyone's guess.

"The new Ruler of the Lands of Light?" Charon waved his free hand in a circle as if this was supposed to help. Again, he was giving these two way more credit than they deserved.

"The surface?" Pain asked dumbly.

"The Elysian Fields!" Charon snapped getting annoyed now. "The dead are saying she can give them another shot at life, a fresh start.. They're proclaiming her their new _Queen of the Dead__.._"

"_Shyeh_, well this Praxidyke is outta luck. Hades won't share his throne. We all know that." Panic snickered at the very thought of some no-nothing goddess just waltzing in like she owned the place and expecting their boss to just lie down and take it. He wouldn't.

"Yeh! And we all know he's sweet on Persephone anyway." Pain responded wriggling his eyebrows playfully having witnessed his boss' far off staring and completely sold on the idea of hooking them up. He still remembered the training that he and Panic had gone through when trying to undermine Cupid's operation a few years back and they had all the classic signs of love.

"Mhm. Well, this is why I just row the boat.. Thought you would wanna know the word on the creek.. See ya next drop off, boys." The skeletal boatman lifted his large out of the stygnalian mud and began rowing of with a casual wave back..

"Yeh, thanks for the info." Panic called back before Charon rowed outta sight then rolled his eyes and piffed. "Can you believe that guy, buying into Gossip like that.." He added thinking that their dark-pink skinned effeminate brother had been spreading stories again. It wouldn't be the first time. He completely missed the moment of realisation that had come over Pain in that same moment.

"Wait a minute! What if Praxidyke_ is_ Persephone?" The rose-pink imp gripped his skinny teal brother by the shoulders and squeezed him tight to his face.

"What?" Panic winced pulling himself back somewhat confused.

"Think about it.. If she really did give that soul a new shot of life then that makes her her, right?" Pain reasoned and this made Panic suddenly think hard tapping his tiny round chin and pacing speedily back and forth, now on his brother's train of thought.

"And we know the souls in the Elysian Fields have been uppity lately.. Pain, I think your right. But if she is the new Lady of the Dead then she's in real trouble. What if Hecate finds out?" The teal imp rounded back on his brother looking worried..

"She'll try and destroy her!" Pain added now also looking panicked by that thought.

"_We have to tell the boss!_" They both cried out at exactly the same moment..

* * *

...At that exact same moment the Lord of the Dead casually strolled into the boardroom with what was left of his morning coffee in hand to find Persephone casually filing her nails with a bored expression on her face, clearly waiting for this morning staff meeting to start so she could get back to work sooner rather than later.

"Hey, your on time for once. How about that.." The fiery god drawled as he deliberately passed close behind the chair she was sat in, hoping that she would get a whiff of his aftershave.

"Actually your..." Persephone began to respond but tailed off as the unfamiliar spicy, woody scent hit her delicate nostrils. _What was that? It smelt so... good._ She blinked when she realised that he was still stood directly beside her just silently watching her. Not in his chair which was at the head of the table right next to her. "Your in my personal space." Persephone quirked a brow trying to look unimpressed and ignore the strange new alluring scent she couldn't quite place that was making her brain feel fuzzy and her heart skip a beat. Could smells do that? She was pretty sure she failed as his smirk only widened.

"_Whoops! _My bad.." Hades didn't sound the least bit sorry, immediately slipping into the seat next to her flashing her a wide serpentine leer. His golden eyes narrowed to her as she merely looked confused and slightly suspicious of his behaviour. "You were gonna tell me I'm late. Weren'tcha, _my sweet.." _He leant in towards her looking somewhat amused by her somewhat flustered attitude. It seemed she did indeed like his aftershave and was trying not to show it..

"I-I_ uh..._" Persephone gulped thickly, inwardly scolded herself before remembering that they were still the only ones in a meeting that was _supposed_ to have started by now and suddenly her smirk was back with a vengeance. "I was but it seems that your not the _only one.._" She casually pointed the nail file still in her hand innocently towards the empty space with an empty easel standing in front of them.

As if on cue the two imps skidded into the boardroom with an armful of scrolls each looking anxious and flashing sheepish grins.

"We're here.. We're here.." They babbled together as they hurriedly began stuffing sheets together and hastily getting them into the easel.

"Your _late!_" Hades snapped flashing red, smashing both fists on the heavy stone table top making it glow red in the spots where his fist had been momentarily. Beside him Persephone merely looked unconcerned by the now warm table as she checked her handiwork by comparing nails then made the nail file vanish in orbs.

"We have a good reason your inflammatory imperiousness." Pain spoke up and the now yellow flamed god narrowed his eyes giving a snarling growl.

"I highly doubt that.." He rolled his eyes returning slowly blue and leaning back into his high backed chair.

"We were gathering intelligence from—" Panic started but was cut off by the fiery god.

"You were yakkin' with Charon again.. Oy vey.." Hades slapped his head in disbelief which only served to make Persephone giggle softly with one dainty white hand in front of her face. The fiery god then pointed both index fingers to them casually shooting two identical torrents of fire, burning them into two blackened piles of ash with eyes. The sound of a distant scream sounded, like it had come from the throne room and this made Persephone get up.

"I got it, you guys carry on.." She replied lightly, this meeting had clearly gone awry and the morning influx of Phlegethon victims were starting to drop in meaning someone would have to tend to them.

"Hold it cutie. You remember what I told ya?" Hades questioned her pulling himself out of his seat and heading to the ash piles still smoking on the floor.

"Yeh, yeh, they grab a name tag then get dumped in the sulphur pit.. Hardly difficult.." Persephone rolled her green eyes. Did he really think she needed a reminder?

"Alright, good. Go get'em girl.." The fiery god replied before adding with some concern, "And stay away from the edge!" He waited a few moments with his eyes still directed upwards as if expecting some response before his shoulders sagged and his gaze narrowed with a deadpan edge. "Hmh. Classic Seph.."

"Sir, we need to talk about the rumours going around the Underworld.." Panic's voice piped up the second the teal imp returned to his regular form with a worried expression.

"_What_ have I told you two about buying into dead rumours.." Hades snarled back as his focus and flames were back onto his minions. This wasn't a question, it was an irate rant at the fact that they were having this discussion again, for the _umpteenth_ time.

"Uh, not to.. But this time it's different." Pain spoke as he followed his slightly smaller brother, transforming back into his imp form and feeling a trembling Panic use his large frame as a shield.

"_How?_" The yellow flamed god's skin glowed orange momentarily as he glared with impossible frustration.

"This time they are talking about a new goddess of the Underworld.." The teal skinned imp said in his usual pathetic voice that whined when he was under this kind of hard pressure.

"Yeh.. They're calling her Praxidyke, the Ruler of the Lands of Light, the new Queen of the Dead.. They think she can give t-them... n-new.. _life.._" The chubby rose-pink imp shook now two as Hades seemed to be burning so hot it was almost like he could bypass anger and go straight into raging-nova any second. This made Pain and Panic cling to each other in solidarity of fear.

"_WHAAAT?-!_"

* * *

The surrounding black cavernous walls of the glowing, swirling Vortex of Phlegethon juddered along with the ground of the massive cliff edge. The small blonde goddess who's usual pure white skin and golden blonde hair was coloured a harsh poisonous green from the glowing sulphur waters of the Phlegethon as she wobbled dangerously able to hear the distant roar of the Lord of the Dead. She felt a stab of empathy for him, knowing he was upset but it was shattered instantly as she wobbled, dangerously close to losing her footing and going over the cliff edge. Unfortunately she did drop her phoenix feather quill which immediately careened over the edge of the Vortex of Fire.

As the black-looking rocky ground she was stood on juddered violently she pushed off it, levitating above the shaking land mass on a seat of glowing white orbs until the seismic activity stopped. Tentatively, she put one black heeled sandal to the ground, testing it to make sure it was indeed solid before making her way slowly to the edge of the cliff and peering over, looking down the long swirling body of water and souls.

"Oh _figs._. I really _liked_ that quill too.." She lamented with a slight frown, seeing no way of getting it back now. She would just have to go and get a bony handled one from the office once she was finished here. Her expression saddened somewhat knowing it wouldn't feel the same in her hand. As she turned her back on the huge drop into the swirling sulphurous waters of the Phlegethon an aged whispery voice spoke, sounding like it hadn't spoken in eons..

"_Praxidyke..._"

"Huh?" Persephone's green eyes widened in shock, turning as if expecting to find a someone stood there but finding no-one. A sharp hiss came from the deep depths of the Vortex of Phlegethon and a small glowing green light shot upwards from the huge drop-off. It hit the stony ground with a clink, reavealling the undamaged phoenix feather quill Hades had given her on her first day, still burning, it's flame undamaged by the waters below. For a moment Persephone stared at the innocently flickering flamed feather of the quill before tentatively moving forward and picking it up holding it close to her ample bosom. Her green eyes travelling around the now serene and seemingly empty cavern, unsure who had returned her quill.

"Thank you.." She simply replied, not wishing to seem rude to whomever had returned this cherished item before turning and leaving the eerily quite room, her heels clicking echoed as she left.

* * *

"_No soul gets a new life!_ Who does this chick think she is?" Hades vented as he paced sharply back and forth through the wreckage that was now his boardroom. The long grey drapes were still smouldering, the walls and long table were blackened and the bony chairs were on their side. Pain and Panic finished extinguishing the drapes as their boss returned his attention to him. "If she thinks she can just _waltz_ in here and make changes then she's got another thing _comin'!_"

"But you're inconceivably irated-ness, we think it might be Persephone.." Pain spoke up with a look of concern mixed with terror, knowing he risked another agonising smiting just for talking back like this.

"Are you joking with this?" Hades drawled in disbelief, his eyes narrowed. They were back to this? First they accuse her of being responsible for a soul leaving, now they think she wants to takeover? This was laughable..

"She is a fertility goddess, who else can bring in new life? And if the dead think she's the new queen, she could be in real trouble if Hecate finds out.." Panic immediately chimed in, wanting to spare his brother from taking all the blame. Both imps shrunk themselves down into small slugs in the hopes that looking small, disgusting and pathetic might spare them a second smiting. When the anogizing flames never came they looked up to see their boss no longer looking annoyed but thoughtful..

"Hey, you guys are _not_ gonna believe what— Oh, _wow._" The voice of the very goddess that the imps had just been talking about spoke with a rush of excitement before noticing the destruction as all eyes rounded onto her. Persephone's green eyes took in the wreckage of the room as she carefully picked her steps, moving inside. "I hope your feeling better after this blow-out, our lessons never go well when your in a pissy mood.."

As she spoke Hades merely stared at her in silence, as if seeing her plainly for the first time while still contemplating what the imps had just said. In this moment everything clicked into place. Since she had been down here the souls in the Elysian Feilds had been more active.. She had changed the Underworld climate and landscape.. She, however unintentionally had _somehow_ set off the alarm that alerted him to souls leaving the Underworld... How had he not seen this before?

"_Um,_ why are you staring at me like that?" Persephone asked unaware of his thought process, her hands folding across her chest as she looked a little unnerved by his long silence and unblinking gaze. "Do I have pomegranate seed in my teeth again?" The white skinned goddess summoned a small compact mirror and began checking her teeth..

She was supposed to be down here, that's why the Fates wanted him to show her how to understand prayers. She was meant to rule here... with him..

..And now she was in _danger!_

**_Little Notes:_**

**_Hey guys, recently had this big epiphany on how the showdown is going to go down as was having a little block on that front. And in no way does it signal the end of the story as there is still a fair way to go until the end. We still have plenty of chapters to go, don't you worry. Also I have changed the cover of this story so it's different to the original P.o.P series.._**

**_Ok, there's more into Persephone's unsuccessful job history in this chapter. This is a subject that dips in and out but it's important to establish why she has never settled down with a position considering her vast age. And more into Persephone and Hermes' long standing friendship. Before you ask, have no fear 'Coo-coo Nutty Hijinx' will be coming into play at a much later date and if you guessed it was Hermes that originally called it this, your right and the name stuck.. The term itself however came from an off-handed comment from the cartoon Sabrina: the animated series, _****_which incidentally was another Disney owned production a few years later and it honestly inspired a lot of the Persephone/Hermes relationship.._**

**_There is a little backstory for the imps here too. There backstory hasn't really changed from the original P.o.P p, their parents are still Lamia the Spirit of Sorrow and Oyzis the Demon of Misery.._**

**_And we finally get a real look into the head of Hades with this chapter. Apologise if some of what is written is somewhat offensive or the adult themes are not what you read for, but this is why it was given a T-rating. It has taken the God of the Dead 17 chapters to finally get his head straight.. I've always considered him a cautious and complicated character with a lot of emotional baggage so it was always going to take him some time to get on board.._**

**_And this is it.. Minthe holds all the cards. The Underwold showdown starts with her but how does it end?_**

**_Stay tuned.._**

**_A~Teal_**


	22. Will They, Won't They (part one)

**Plight of Persephone**

_Ok people, you know the score, I do not own Hercules, Disney does and even though they do not have plans for— What? They do! DAMMIT! Son of a Titan—! I knew it! I KNEW they would do a god damn live action remake! ***Agent of Teal facepalms wearily*** I hope none of the executives got the idea from reading this story, now that would be awkward ...I'm sorry, back too the disclaimer.. Don't worry, you do not need to have read any of my other stories to read this one and the original is NOT going anywhere, it stays here where it belongs.. I do own this version of Persephone and all other original characters and places that come up, permission and advice is always given to those who want to use them but do tell me if you use my characters so I may view and comment on your work.. Just like the original I will be basing this story around Greek myths and twisting them around just like Disney did, I will also be reworking some of_ _the original plot lines.. Please review and let me know your thoughts.. Thank you for your time. Enjoy! _

* * *

**Reviews:**

**Sharkeygirl: It's no problem, your my most avid reviewer, it was the least I could do to show my appreciation.. And I won't give too much away..**

* * *

**_Chapter Twenty-Two: Will They, Won't They (part one)_**

"I don't understand.. _First_ you don't want to show me more, now you want me to shadow you. What's with you? Your acting weird.." Persephone frowned suspiciously as she followed the blue flamed god holding her purple clipboard with her favourite phoenix feather quill down the long stairwell towards the docks of the Styx. He was hiding something from her, that much was obvious. But what? And why? Whatever it was was obviously troubling and the imps had darted off the moment he had roused himself from his mindless staring and dismissed them to their duties. They had clearly been the ones to tell him of this disturbing piece of news and the fiery god had been oddly quiet since. This had been unnerving to her.. Hades wasn't exactly the shy and retiring kind of god from what she had seen in the last five months. He often spoke so much that Persephone wondered if he liked the sound of his own voice... Or he was so starved for attention that he was liked just talking her ear off just because she was here and willing to listen. Either way she did not like this new quiet and brooding Hades..

In response to her words the blue flamed god stopped suddenly in his tracks and turned to her so fast she wobbled on the spot in her haste not to crash into him. She felt as if she would never get used to his ever changing moods and jump-scare fast, fluid movements.

"Do you trust me?"

"_Er..._" His sudden question threw her and she looked perplexed as to why he would even ask this.

"Hey, it's not exactly a trick question, is it?" Hades interrupted her thought process with a kink of one eyebrow and a deadpan expression that couldn't quite hide the inner irritation and somewhat hurt look reflected in those expressive golden eyes. The latter emotion vanished quickly as he continued, "It has a very simple yes or no answer that will dictate how well I can answer your initial question, ok? Trust is the key foundation to any relationship professional, platonic or _otherwise.._"

"It's hard to trust you when I know your hiding something.." Persephone frowned folding her arms across her clipboard and quill, the poignant meaning of his last words completely going over her head.

"Y'know, it's things like this that will land you in tight jams in future. You _really_ should work on those people skills, take that under advisement." He added with a slight huff before turning away from her. "And for the record I'm hiding a _lot_ of things from you, we've only known each other five months and nine days, you'll have to be more specific with what particular _thing_ you think I'm hiding from you." Immediately he proceeded to continue on striding down the stairs making the much younger goddess unfold her arms and swiftly follow, clipboard and quill still in hand.

"You promised you'd tell me if it was important." She continued having to keep a quick pace to keep up with him.

"I did." Hades responded in a surprisingly amiable voice considering her trust doubts. "Which clearly indicates that I obviously don't consider whatever this is as "'important''." He air-quoted as he walked downwards, rolling his yellow eyes which was unseen by her.

"Do you trust me?" Persephone sighed veering the subject, unable to argue with his logic. She had never specified that whatever he hid from her had to be important to her, he wasn't technically breaking his promise to her by withholding information.

"I _believe_ I've already answered this question." The blue flamed god exhaled heavily stopping again and turning. He buried his frustration at her need to ask this under a light, friendly smile and extended one hand towards her as she stopped. She was a few steps behind him as her shorter legs had struggled to keep pace but she was almost the same height as him due to the steep rise of the cliff-edge the steps were on. His fingers were warm to the touch as they caressed her cheek gently, his thumb running down her bottom lip and resting on her chin a moment as he studied her face. "My answer hasn't changed." With that he let go and Persephone stood there looking stunned, her lithe white fingers going to her lips and touching the spot where his thumb had brushed her bottom lip. The tingling still there and spreading to warm the apples of her cheeks with a peachy blush.. He still trusted her..

"I want to trust you Hades.. Are you sure this is not something I can help you with?" She smiled sweetly moving her hand to grip his much, much larger hand, her dainty fingers fitting neatly inside his fingers as they automatically clasped hers. Her aura blending with the pale bluish-grey of his skin giving a pearly glow where his skin tone merged with her pure white. Her olive green eyes were gazing at him with concern and affection. She truly cared about him.. and she wanted to help. He felt a pit forming in his stomach, starting to feel bad about denying her the knowledge that Hecate was coming for her. But the truth was he had never seen Hecate as a real threat, he could handle anything that witch tried to throw at him and he didn't feel as if he needed her to get involved when this was technically his fight.

"Persephone, your a doll but _this_ one I can handle myself.." He replied simply, his smirk softening into an actual soft smile before he lifted the hand that was still enclosed around her fingers and kissed them before letting her hand go. As he turned away he smirk returning, catching sight of her suddenly turn her blonde head with a coy look.

"Well, ok then.. But if you do change your mind the offer is always open, even after I leave.." Persephone added attempting to control her blushes with difficulties. She felt as if her skin would overheat due to the dangerously alluring scent that she could only deduce was coming from him. Whatever he had doused himself with that morning smelt incredible to her. That coupled with the undeniable truth that she had found herself becoming more and more smitten by him ever since that kiss by the Pool of Lethe. She had begun to wonder if they could possibly do it again but she had been timid thinking that he wouldn't view her in that light. He had never brought up the kiss and had been acting as if it meant nothing to him. At least, this is what she thought until today.. Now she wasn't so sure that was the case.. He was such a confusing god, just when she thought she had him figured out something always cane up that surprised her..

"Fine, I'll keep it under consideration, how's that?" Hades replied airily as the two imps and the long grey stone docks. "Now let's check in with the idiots then if the numbers are low, like I suspect they are, how's about we duck out early and I'll show ya a good time. Whadda ya think, huh, you in?"

"Am I allowed? I must have paperwork to—" She found herself cut off as Hades immediately cut through her words, the phoenix quill and clipboard Persephone had been holding vanishing into smoke at the snap of his fingers.

"Hey, remember me? Li'l ol' Lord of the Dead.. Your boss. Forget about work, we'll catch up with it later.. What's the point in the buisness lull if ya don't take advantage of it once in a while.." He continued in his jaunty drawl pulling away from her and marching over to the imps, who until this point had been lounging bored against two of the black wooden jetty posts playing cards. At least until they clocked that their flame haired boss had arrived and the cards vanished instantly as they stood with matching sheepish grins.

"We weren't doing anything.." Pain blurted out mindlessly.

"I can see that.." Hades responded sharply before instantly flashing his minions an obviously false smirk that was designed to mask his full annoyance. "I'm guessing the Soul Booth is dead then?" At least that's what Persephone assumed as she noiselessly stood at the bottom of the steps, wanting to stay out of the fireworks that were sure to come if these two didn't clock onto his mood.

"Yeh, so is Doom Service.." Panic chipped in.

"And everywhere else down here. Dead as a door nail your salaciousness.." His small round eyes able to spot Persephone purely because he was standing turned slightly in her direction whereas Panic was slightly turned away.

"Ok, good. So I just have one question.." Hades drawled before glaring, his flames turned orange faster than anyone could blink. "Is the quarterly review _gonna prepare for itself?-!_" Persephone merely rolled her green eyes in disbelief before closing the gap between her and Hades as the two imps began jogging on the spot in their panic to get away before diving away passed her as two fireballs cane flying for them. The youthful white-skinned goddess had to quickly sidestep to avoid being hit by the balls of fire, making her long blonde mane of hair swish as she moved.

"Heh, apologies Seph.. Little yutzes wouldn't know hard work if it bit 'em on the— Oh, look.. the boatman, heh, perfect timin'.." The fiery god chuckled before flashing Charon a wide grin as he pulled into the Styx, his long black gondola without a single passenger.

"It's slim pickin's today boss.. Only seen three souls this morning." His deep raspy voice said in an apologetic fashion but the fiery god seemed the least bit unphased by this information as he continued to smile widely.

"Uh-huh, good, good. Say Charon, why don'tcha take five. I wanna use the boat." He drawled back and this in turn made the bony boatman throw his boss a stunned look.

"What?" The dull grey skinned skeletal thin boatman dressed in a black cape uttered looked completely bemused. He had never been asked in all his mileniums of working to just give up his boat.

"_Pfft_, don't act like ya didn't hear me. C'mon, gimmie the oar.." Hades frowned a little towards the boatman, the open palm he presented to Charon beckoning him with his four long bony bluish-grey fingers.

"But sir, it's my duty to row the boat, surely I can just take you and your lovely lady to wherever it is you wish to go." The skeletal boatman grinned somewhat nervously with a glance to Persephone who was watching the exchange somewhat confused. He had been doing his job flawlessly and though he knew his was pushing his luck he was still reluctant to give up his oar.

"Uh.. No. Not this time. Now I'll let this one fly since you keep your nose clean but I won't ask again.. The oar. _Now!_" His usually blue flames switched to orange and considering this was the first time they had ever been directed at him Charon instantly handed over the long black oar and hastily got out of the long gondola. Persephone couldn't help but flash him a sympathetic look as he looked somewhat confused as to what he was supposed to do now.

"Good choice." Hades smirked getting on board. "Hop aboard babe, I haven't shown you the water way, yet." The fiery god flashed her his most charming grin, which may have come off as slick and slimy to most others but not to the youthful looking goddess stood on the stone jetty. She moved forwards before pausing and turning to Charon who was stood with his arms folded looking somewhat sour about all this.

"I'll be sure he gives it back.." She uttered kindly as she pulled two gold coins out of her bosom and offered them to the boatman.

"That's not the issue but thanks.." Charon responded before looking at the coins confused before looking back at her. "What's that for? You ride for free.."

"Consider it compensation for the hijacking.." She added grabbing his loose-skinned bony hand and forcing the coins in it before turning towards the long gondola and allowing the blue flamed Lord of the Dead to assist her aboard.

"Ya didn't have t'do that.." Hades murmured softly in her ear when he brought her in close, his full blue lips millimetres from the side of her face, the seductive scent of him hitting her hard and making her want to go weak at the knees but she resisted.

"I know, I just wanted to.." Persephone replied with a playful smirk moving away from him and settling herself down into the boat. She had barely managed to repress a shiver at his seductive behaviour but was unsure if this was some kind of ploy because he hadn't shown any such attention to her in the last few weeks since their kiss. Still, she was intrigued to see where this was going and she had never been on a boat ride without Poseidon before. She watched him curiously as he untied the long black gondola boat from the jetty and used the oar to cast off into the Styx..

* * *

"A boat ride?" Minthe huffed from her perch in the thick leathery shrubbery near the waters edge where she was able to spy on the fiery god as he rowed with long brusque strokes while his little intern sat neatly in front. "He _never_ took me on any boat ride!" She narrowed her hazel brown eyes and pouted jealously. This was starting to look like a date!

_How could he do this now?_

The little green haired nymph scowled in irritation as she pulled herself back through the shrubbery. Why would he be taking her on a date? She would be leaving soon and if Minthe knew anything about Hades it was that he could be very possessive over things he considered to be his. His own throne was the perfect example, he didn't like the Underworld but he made damn sure that Hecate wouldn't get it all the same..

_What does he even see in her anyway?_

Persephone only had this pale, drab and white look going on when she was out of the sun. She only had to spend an hour in the sun for her lilac tan to make a reappearance then once her mother forced her into one of those ugly loose white chitons and stupid flower crown he would soon see that she looked just like she always did. Demeter's little girl.. She still got ID'ed every time they went to clubs and bars and Persephone would just hand over her ID and giggle in amusement at the sudden look of horror when the bouncer would realise she was a goddess..

She wasn't right for him. How could he even look at a goddess that would permenantly be pubescent? It was creepy, it was wrong and it looked borderline paedophilic.. Why would the Lord of the Dead want to look like a total creeper? He would just make it so much easier for Hecate to claim Persephone had been brainwashed and raped..

Minthe's scowl deepened as she grabbed the two pink Love Arrows she had kept buried in dirt while she was in plant form. She had to find a way to split them up before Hades played right into the hands of Hecate.. Somehow, someway she had to break them up and snag Hades for herself.. It was the only way to save him now!

She vanished out in a puff of green with a sweet smell, determined to follow them..

* * *

"They're gone!" Pain exclaimed loudly as the chubby imp rooted around behind the huge stone throne of their boss, making the long grey drape behind swish with a flurry. Getting the numbers ready for the quarterly review was much easier with Persephone handling the books. The goddess made sure to organise the daily soul intake numbers in a manner that meant all the imps had to do was follow a column of figures and plot it out on the chart scroll. She had basically done most of the hard work for them unlike Hades, who already had a heavy work schedule and not the time to really focus, only did the bare minimum and expected them to pick up the slack. Both Pain and Panic felt assured that since Persephone took real care in her work that the figures were going to be accurate which meant less flames from Hades when it came to the presentation.. And since their job was now much easier and took less effort they had turned their attention back to their plot to hook up Persephone and Hades. Time was whittling down fast and they knew things would only get tougher with her not around..

"What?" Panic yelped in shock. "They can't be gone! Let me see.." He elbowed his slightly older chubbier rose-pink twin in a vain attempt to force himself through so he could see for himself.

"I'm telling you-_ahow! _They're not here." Pain winced at a perticularly hard jab from his bony lithe teal brother as the stick thin imp was able to squeez himself into the tight gab between the throne and his older twin, smashing the rose-pink imp into the corner edge of the secret passageway hidden behind the throne. Only their boss and them knew about this emergency exit from the throne room as Hades had created it for dire emergencies and it lead directly out to a concealed entrance by the Pool of Lethe.

"That's impossible. I saw you put them here, who would've found them.." Panic struggled to pull himself back out, his huge bug eyes widening in fear as he hyperventilated, his tiny chest puffing so fast with every breath. "M-maybe the boss found them, I _told you _that was a stupid place to put them!" He rambled before flashing his chubbier denser brother a deep accusing scowl.

"No, no.. He can't have. We woulda been flamed for sure, besides this is still here.." Pain replied picking up the two pronged dikrano that the two had wedged behind there to stop him from skewering them and forcing them to transform into marshmallows and melt over one of the underground lava pits for his twisted entertainment.

"Then who took them.." Panic frowned rubbing his chin trying to think.

"Miss Persephone?" Pain interjected looking hopeful that he was right.

"Eh. I doubt it, she probably would have asked Hades about it and he clearly doesn't know about the arrows." The short skinny imp dismissed this instantly.

"Hecate?"

"Now why would Hecate want Love Arrows, she hates Hades. Why would she come crawling back to him?"

"Cause... She's desperate, sad and lonely.." Pain shrugged casually with an 'I don't know' expression.

"While that is true I don't think the boss would stoop that low.. Even when nailed with a Love Arrow." Panic uttered dismissing this again.

"Well, what about that crazy nymph that's always hanging around trying to lure the boss?" Pain suddenly spoke up after a moment of thinking. "You know the one. Green hair in a ponytail with white flowers, brown eyes acts like a stuck up brat whenever she sees us.."

"The one that the boss slept with once then regretted because she now refuses to leave him alone?" Panic fired this all out in one quick but fluid sentence, considering this nymph. They weren't completely one hundred percent on the specifics of what had made their boss bed the nymph, they had been too nervous to ask but he fully regretted it the next day as from that day onwards the river sprite had just decided to up and try and move herself into his realm. The only real conclusions they had come to was that either their boss had had too much to drink on Olympus as it had been another celebration at the time or he had headed home in a complete depression and needed some form of comfort he thought he could get from her. Either way Hades had messed up and had been paying for it ever since.

"Well, if it is her maybe Persephone will finally send her packing." Pain replied with a sadistic smile trying to imagine what horrors the goddess could unleash when provoked by that crazy nymph. "Then Hades is sure to ask her out."

"Hey, yeh.. He couldn't stop talking about how she outwitted that 'These-yutz' guy when she put him in that Chair of Forgetfulness a few weeks back. He's been head over heels for her since and if she does something nasty to his stalker he'll probably want to marry her.." Panic added as he rubbed his tiny claws together with an evil chuckle.

"This plan might work out after all!" They both chimed together cheerfully looking instantly lighter about the whole ordeal since they would be less likely to be blamed for the Love Arrows getting into the Underworld in the first place.

"So... Should we figure out where they went?" Pain questioned his skinny teal partner curiously.

"Nah.. Let's take advantage of the fact he's not here and play ping-pong.." Panic responded summoning two paddles, a net and an eyeball out of a shimmer of green throwing his brother a smirk..

* * *

The sound of Hades' singing voice seemed to fill the carvenous Underworld as he rowed casually, guiding the long black gondola with the beautifully carved serpent head at the front. The extent of his artistic talent never failed to amaze Persephone. She had only been here five months but she was starting to recognise his style and it was obvious that he had created the figurehead serpent for the black boat. Now she was inside it she had realised it hadn't been painted but was charred black from being burnt, not painted like she had initially thought. She had no idea what technique he had used but he must have whittled the entire boat himself from a huge tree first. Most likely a hardwood tree but it was too hard to tell what kind anymore due to the whole burning process but if she were to guess she would say cypress wood would work best for it. When first in the boat she had been sat down but eventually the youthful looking goddess was stood up, holding onto the sides of the large figurehead serpent. Her long blonde hair whipping around her in the updraft as the boat as her eyes watched the banks of the Underworld pass by. They had turned from the Styx into the Acheron, the land around them a blur of soft ghostly pink, matching the two asphodels twirled into the left side of her head and ashen white poplar trees..

"Did I really grow all that?" Persephone looked amazed, having not realised the full scope of the Fields of Purgatory or 'Asphodel Fields' as the dead souls often referred to them as. It was hard for her to believe that three year old her had caused so much irrefutable damage to his realm. A guilty pit formed in her stomach, she never should have done that. He must have been so angry with her at the time and hid it well and her poor mother must have got such a berating when he handed her back..

Hades who had recently finished his crooning song blinked at her expression of wonderment that was laced with a hint of guilt.

"Oh yeh.. Yeh, that's all you.." The blue flamed god exhaled, his yellow eyes narrowing at the fields. His full blue lips twisted somewhat expressing his slight disapproval though he didn't voice it.

"I'm sorry. I have no excuse for ruining your realm like that." Persephone exhaled leaning her blonde head against the large serpent head, closing her eyes with a sad expression marring her beautiful youthful white-skinned face. "And you can't even kill it off.."

"Hehe.. Oh I tried on several occasions, _believe_ me." Hades responded before shrugging casually. "But the sub-realm isn't entirely useless. The pollen in those asphodels confuses both mortals and dead souls, keeps them outta my flames and often delays heroes dumb enough to try comin' in from this side.."

"Really? Probably filled with something my mother disapproved of at the time.." The blonde goddess replied with a slight eye roll. She had no idea what kind of pollen these flowers could have, it had been a few millennia since she had grown them but she knew how strict her mother was when it came to surface plants. No doubt her younger self had wandered off, found this dark land and grown plants her mother had prohibited at the time. It was very like her to secretly defy like that, even then as a tot.

"Hey, I'm not complainin'.." The fiery god replied.

"But don't do it again." Persephone added with a slight smirk looking back.

"I didn't say that." Hades frowned a little as his lips pursed, not liking being second-guessed but not denying he had been thinking it.

"You didn't have to." Persephone added lightly, finding the blue god easier to read the longer she stayed in his company. He wasn't the easiest god to read, far from it but she felt that he was warming to her, letting her see more of him than she first had seen. He was a god with many, many layers and she wanted to know each and every part of him if he would allow her to. She had realised early on that everything was on his terms but she was willing to be patient with him...

**_Little Notes:_**

**_Hey guys, this chapter is in two parts because I realised when I over shot my deadline and only had half what I wanted as a chapter that this was going to be way, way too long.. Had no time to edit this so I hope it's decent. _**

**_Thanks to everyone who got me to 10,000 views! I have a challange planned to post tomorrow for that so look out for it.. _**

**_Too tired to really explain myself as I've stayed up until 2AM with this and am bloody exhausted.. going to bed so enjoy.._**

**_Stay Tuned_**

**_A~Teal_**


End file.
